Night of the Living Coulson
by QUEENofMYfandoms
Summary: The truth is revealed when the Avengers watch Agents of Shield. Adopted from AFincorperated.
1. Chapter One

Hello everyone, thank you to my wonderful beta nightmarehunter67 and my cowriter/beta jmm10800 for helping me with this story. Without further ado lets get started.

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Natasha yawned and stretched out on the lounge chairs on the balcony of her apartment in Avengers Tower. She had had a long week of missions and danger and stupidness, and was really looking forward to have an entire day of nothing. Maybe she'd read a book. Maybe she'd just nap.

Whatever it was, she wasn't leaving this balcony for as long as she could. It was a sunny summer day, and for once she was relaxed.

Well, all good things come to an end.

Natasha didn't even feel anything change-to her, she just blinked and opened her eyes and was somewhere else entirely. She was sitting in the living room of the main area of the tower, with all the other Avengers in the tower there as well, all looking equally disoriented. Wanda squeaked and accidentally made one of the windows explode outward with her magic. Clint had his hands up like he was firing a bow, except all his bow and arrows were missing. Tony staggered a little, falling onto the couch. Thor fell backward over one of the armchairs and hit the floor. Steve reached for his shield to realize it wasn't right next to him where he thought it should be, and Bruce did a full 360 trying to figure out where he was.

Vision was the only one who didn't look confused. He stood serenely in front of them, waiting for silence.

"What's going-" Tony swore. "How did I-"

"I am sorry to have done that to you," Vision said politely. "But there is something that all of you really ought to see."

"Vision, how did you do that?" Wanda asked curiously, staring at him. "Did you teleport us?"

"No." Vision said. "Someone else did that. I only suggested it."

"Vision, I swear, you had better start making sense." Clint frowned. "Where's my bow?!"

"Being kept safe. As is your shield, Captain, and Thor's hammer, and the Ironman suit. They are all in a safe place until I am done showing you what it is you must see."

"What must we see?" Natasha demanded testily. She had been having a great day, and now all she wanted to do was punch Vision in the face.

"Yeah, can we hurry this up?" Tony complained. "I'm supposed to meet Pepper."

"I'm afraid that you're going to be late, Mr. Stark." Vision said, sitting down on the loveseat in front of the TV. "This may take a while. And none of you will find yourselves able to leave until we are done watching everything."

"Everything?" Bruce asked cautiously. "What are we watching?"

"Let's just get this over with," Steve sighed. Natasha scowled, but for some reason found herself less angry when he sat down next to her.

Wanda found a seat next to Vision, and everyone else crowded onto couches, the armchairs, and somehow Thor ended up sitting on the floor.

"What we are about to watch is extremely important, and entirely classified." Vision said. The TV clicked on without anyone having to do anything.

" **The secret is out."** The screen was still black, but they could hear a woman's voice.

"Who is that?" Clint asked. Everyone but Vision shrugged.

 **The screen changed to show a city, clouds passing rapidly overhead. The woman's voice continued, "For decades, your organization stayed in the shadows, hiding the truth." The screen now showed a sped-up view of people in a busy city intersection.**

" **But now we know. They're among us. Heroes…" Images flashed across the screen: Tony flying across the sky, the captain's shield, Thor's hammer.**

"Hey, is all of this about us?" Steve looked surprised. "Someone made a movie about us?"

"No," Wanda looked a little puzzled. "Why would anyone make a movie about us? Nobody would watch it..."

" **And monsters," The woman continued. The screen was filled with crashed cars, burned buildings, and the face of a Chitauri. Then it showed Bruce in Hulk-mode, roaring at the camera.**

Bruce winced. Tony scowled. "He's not a monster!" He told the TV screen. "He should be on the hero list!"

Bruce went a little pink. "Thanks, Tony."

"It's _true._ " The other Avengers looked a little uncomfortable, until Tony glared at them and they all started nodding.

" **The world is full of wonders," The woman finished. The screen changed again to show a little boy walking up to a shop window with Avengers action figures positioned inside. The little boy's father could be seen behind him, talking to another older man with grey hair. Words appeared at the bottom of the screen, in white:** _ **East Los Angeles, CA.**_

"I am confused." Thor stated. "Is this little boy known by any of us?" Again, all of them shook their heads, even the Vision this time.

" **Ace, come and get it," The little boy's father said, offering his son lunch. The boy took it and turned back to the window.**

"His name's Ace?" Clint smiled. "That's kinda cute."

"Aww… Daddy Hawk!" Tony teased, and Clint's face went red.

"I'm just gonna stop talking, now."

" **What do you say we go out to your Aunt Mindy's this weekend? You and Kisha can swim in the pond." The boy's dad gave a smile that was slightly forced as the little boy stared at the heroes figurines.**

 **All the boy said was, "Sure." The father's smile faltered.**

"When he say's they're going to his Aunt Mindy's…" Natasha said, a thought springing to mind. "Do they have anyplace else to go?"  
"They probably do." Steve said quickly, but he looked a little concerned.

" **You know you got a birthday coming up in a couple a' months." His dad said, noticing Ace staring at the hero figurines. "Who's your favorite?"**

"Me!" Tony said immediately, and Steve rolled his eyes. "What? It is probably me. I'm just popular, I can't help it."

" **I'm okay," Ace said, looking sad.**

Wanda frowned. _Children should be able to have toys,_ she thought, remembering her own childhood on the streets with Pietro after their parents died. Vision seemed to sense her discomfort, and took her hand. Wanda's face went red, but for some reason she didn't feel like pulling away.

" **Hey," The father bent over to be at the same level as his son. "Things are tight right now, but I'm gonna find something. Not back at the factory, but I got prospects. You and me, what are we?"**

" **We're a team," Ace answered, and the two fist-bumped.**

"Okay," Steve said. "That is admittedly pretty cute."

"See? Not just me." Clint grumbled.

"It is." Natasha agreed, but quietly enough that no one had to hear her.

" **That's right. So, who do you-" The top floor of the building across the street exploded outward. Screams and crashes spread through the street. The father shielded Ace from any shrapnel, staring up at the explosion in horror. On the street, people dodged fire and glass.**

"Hydra?" Thor asked. "Or some other enemy?"

"I don't know." Steve frowned. "Hydra is usually subtler than that."

" **Are you okay?" The father demanded of Ace. "Alright, Ace, look at me. I need you to stay here with Bernie, okay? People might be hurt I'm gonna see if they need my help. Stay with Bernie! Watch my boy!" The father shoved through the people fleeing the scene, heading for the wreckage.**

"Does he have super powers?" Wanda wondered.

"I hope so. Otherwise, he might not be able to do much good, not without training." Natasha frowned.

 **The father made his way around the building to an alley at the back. A woman's voice screamed from above. "Help me!** _**Help me!**_ "

 **The father glanced around. Then he held up his hand like he was about to punch the wall.**

Clint started, "Is he about to do what I think he's gonna-"

 **The father slammed his hand into the wall, and it sank in and stayed there. He jammed in his foot and another hand, climbing the wall.**

"Well, he definitely has powers." Steve nodded.

"Lame powers." Tony said, checking his watch. "Pepper is gonna be mad at me, I was two hours late before this whole thing started, so this is just making me doubly-"

"Stark, shut up."

 **The father reached the window the woman had screamed from and threw his arms over the sill. He yelled in pain, but still managed to pull his hood over his head before throwing himself into the flame.**

Everyone watching was tense, nervous to see what would happen and worried if something went wrong. They didn't even know him, but they were on the edges of their seats.

 **In the flaming building, the man struggled to see through the smoke. He kicked aside a burned-out door, and followed the voice. He only just managed to leap back as a beam fell down in front of him.**

 **The screen changed to show people on the street, using their cell phones to film the explosion. Then, from one of the front windows, the hooded man leapt from the building, with a woman in his arms bridal style.**

"Yes!" Tony cheered. "Go guy!"

 **He landed on the ground, leaving huge cracks in the concrete. For a moment, the screen showed him through one of the blurry phone videos. His face couldn't be seen. Then the phone video was gone, and he was lowering the coughing woman carefully to the ground.**

 **The screen showed another young woman with dark hair and a leather jacket, staring and holding her camera.**

"Isn't that like the third time they've shown her?" Tony realized.

"She must be important." Thor mused. "Perhaps she is an agent of SHIELD?"

"She'd be doing more." Natasha shook her head. "Maybe she'll figure out who he is."

 **The hooded man stood up, and for a moment the two stared at each other. Then he yanked his hood down and ran. The young woman who'd been filming him seemed like she wanted to follow, but went to the rescued woman on the ground, instead.**

"Good choice." Steve nodded approvingly. "Helping the injured first."

" **We can't explain everything we see." The woman narrator's voice was back as the man made his way through a crowd of people to his son, Ace, his jacket now tucked under his arm. "But our eyes are open. So what now? There are no more shadows for you to hide in." The man led Ace away from Bernie and through the crowd from the explosion site.**

" **Something impossible just happened." The woman narrated. The man glanced at the wreckage one more time, and then they were gone in the crowd. "What are you going to do about it?"**

 **Suddenly, the image of the man and Ace were gone, replaced with a logo everyone watching knew well. The SHIELD eagle, with the words** _ **Marvel: Agents of SHIELD**_ **written over it.**

"What the hell?" Clint asked. "They make it seem like a TV show."

"How did they get all of that footage?" Wanda wanted to know. "This should be impossible, yes?"

"Should, being the key word." Vision said with a vague smile.

 **The logo was gone, replaced by black cars driving along the a river.** _ **Paris, France**_ **appeared at the bottom of the screen as the cars all stopped.**

"Okay, _these_ guys are SHIELD agents." Tony decided. "The black vans totally give it away."

 **A man in a suit climbed from his car, speaking into a walkie-talkie. "Agent Ward, there's been a development. It's the Rising Tide."**

"The who-now?" Steve had to ask.

"A group of hackers," Natasha explained. "They've caused a lot of trouble for SHIELD, and other government organizations. Hacking our servers and leaking info onto the net, things like that."

"I like them already!" Tony grinned. Natasha scowled.

 **Now on the screen was a man on a motorcycle, wearing all black. The man's voice could still be heard over the walkie-talkie. "They've pinned down the location of the package, we need to abort."**

" **I'm five minutes away from retrieving it," The man on the motorcycle said, sounding annoyed.**

"Agent Ward?" Thor guessed.

"Probably." Clint shrugged.

" **So was everyone else," The man on the walkie-talkie replied cooly. Agent Ward was coming to a stop in front of a restaurant. The walkie-talkie man continued. "They posted the coordinates online."**

"Jeez." Tony raised his eyebrows. "Isn't that… really dangerous for a load of people?"  
Natasha nodded slowly, like she was trying to explain all of this to a child.

" **If the job was easy-" Agent Ward started to say, but walkie-talkie interrupted.**

" **Yeah, it wouldn't be any fun. Watch your six." Agent Ward pulled off his helmet, and the camera saw his face for the first time. He was handsome, with dark hair and eyes.**

"I think I might know him," Natasha frowned suddenly. "He looks a little familiar."

"Makes sense," Wanda nodded. "You're both SHIELD agents, after all."

 **Agent Ward walked into the restaurant through the back door, slipping a tray out of his jacket. He walked through the kitchen and into the main dining area, now dressed as a waiter. He carefully placed a special cloth on the tray.**

"Undercover as a waiter?" Tony asked scornfully. "Lame."

"Waiters hear everything," Clint said reproachfully.

" **Red tie, by the window." The walkie-talkie guy's voice said. It was a little muffled.**

"Is he in Agent Ward's earpiece?" The Vision asked. Wanda nodded.

 **Ward approached the man described, who was at a table with several other men. He said something in French, and subtitles flashed across the bottom of the screen.** _ **May I take your glass, sir?**_

 **The man quickly nodded and turned back to his companions. Ward took the glass and hurried away. At the back of the restaurant was a set of huge spiral stairs with a chandelier hanging over them. Ward strode up the stairs, waving the glass over the cloth on his tray. A handprint appeared in blue light, then flashed red, then turned off.**

"What was that?" Thor asked curiously.

"He took the fingerprints from the glass," Natasha explained. "That cloth scans it and re-creates the fingerprints. We use it a lot at SHIELD."

"That's pretty cool," Tony admitted. "But I still don't get why we're watching this."

 **Suddenly, the screen changed to a lavish apartment. French singing could be heard from somewhere. The door quietly opened, and Ward slipped into the apartment. He closed the door behind him and made his way down the hallway, glancing around each doorway. He finally seemed to find what he was looking for, stopping by a large fireplace.**

 **What he did next was odd. He twisted the top and bottom of his tray in opposite directions, and a ring of blue light appeared. He held it up, and it showed an x-ray of the wall. He followed it to a keypad hidden behind a painting, which he took down. He typed in the code, and held the stolen fingerprints to the scanner.**

"How did he know the code?" Wanda asked.

"SHIELD has ways of knowing these things." Natasha said shortly.

"That's really creepy." Tony muttered.

"She just means that they've probably got surveillance on this place." Steve explained. He glanced sideways at Natasha. "That is what you meant… right?"

 **The entire fireplace slid up into the ceiling, while Ward looked unimpressed.**

"That's cool," Clint said, nodding. "I think I should put one of those in my house."

"Laura would kill you." Natasha shook her head.

 **Behind the fireplace was a dimly lit small room with a table, a small pile of treasures set on it. Ignoring the piles of bills, Ward took a small cloth bag from the table and turned to leave.**

"Why doesn't he take the money?" Tony frowned.

"Because he actually has morals."

"That explains it."

 **He was halfway out when he looked up and saw a blond woman in a dressing gown holding a wooden cooking spoon, frowning at him.**

"She's not dressed…." Steve averted his eyes, ignoring Tony's sniggers.

 **The two stared at each other for a moment, and then Ward said, "Your fireplace is broken."**

Tony and Wanda both laughed. "That's the best he had?" Clint smirked. "Jeez."

"It is not entirely inaccurate," The Vision said thoughtfully. "Lifting into the ceiling probably impairs the intended purpose of the fireplace."

Wanda shook her head at him.

 **The woman looked unimpressed, and for a moment the only noise was the French opera music, which had played the entire time. Then something was called in French from the front hall, the door bursting open, and Ward jolted into action. He threw his tray into the face of the first man inside.**

"Nice," Steve said appreciatively.

 **The second man was swung into a bookcase. There appeared to be only two of them, but they kept getting back up. The bookcase man pulled a gun, but Ward yanked it out of his hand and it hit the floor. While they fought, the blond woman rolled her eyes and left the room. The man threw Ward to the floor and they were almost caught underneath the fireplace as it lowered to the floor, but Ward managed to roll out of the way.**

" **Ward," Walkie-talkie man was back. "Just a heads up, we've got possible hostiles in your vicinity."**

"No kidding!" Clint laughed. "That warning came a bit late, don't you think?"

"I don't think he needed a warning," Natasha said. She'd been watching Ward fight, looking a little impressed. "He's a good fighter." Steve shot her a glance. Was he jealous? Okay, maybe a little. But he kept his mouth shut. He didn't even like Natasha in that way… right?

" **Really?" Ward hissed as he and his attacker, in a headlock, fell backwards over the couch. The French woman, now fully dressed, was spotted leaving the house.**

"She isn't even going to do anything?" Wanda said scornfully. "I'm not impressed."

 **Ward wrestled with both men, managing to kick one back into the sofa. The other grabbed him by the collar and shoved him into the kitchen counter. Ward punched him to the floor quickly, but the other man was almost on his feet again.**

 **Ward grabbed a blender from the counter and smashed it in the sofa-man's face.**

Everyone winced. "Ow."

 **The other man was on his feet again and tried to hid Ward with a frying pan, but Ward had pulled out a drawer and held it up in defense. He then smashed it over the man's head, and another punch sent him to the ground.**

"He is an impressive fighter," Clint agreed. "Not much finesse, though."

Wanda snorted. "You don't have finesse, either."

"No arguments."

 **Ward kicked the man's face into the oven door. Then with a panted breath and a glance around, he was out the door.**

 **The next shot showed a helicopter flying over Paris.**

"His extraction?" Natasha guessed.

"Must be," Steve agreed.

 **Ward was shown climbing up onto a roof, jogging along and looking up at the helicopter.**

"Did he seriously climb that high?" Tony wondered. "That's ten stories, at least."

 **The helicopter swung overhead, and Ward caught a rope lowered down to him. They swung out over the city, Ward holding onto knots in the rope.**

"That must be terrifying." Thor commented.

"It is," Natasha agreed. "I've done it several times."

" **What does SHIELD stand for, Agent Ward?" A familiar woman's voice asked.**

"Hill," Steve, Natasha, and Clint all said at the same time. "What's she got to do with all of this? And what's all of this got to do with us?" Clint wanted to know.

"You will see," Vision promised.

 **Ward was now sitting at a metal table in a dark room, looking like he didn't want to be there. But he still answered immediately. "Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division."**

" **And what does that mean to you?" Hill asked. They still hadn't seen her on screen, but there was nobody else that it could be.**

 **Ward hesitated. "It means someone really wanted our initials to spell out SHIELD."**

Tony laughed. "My opinion of this guy just went up."

 **Hill was shown on the screen, sitting across from Ward and looking annoyed. Ward quickly revised his answer. "It means we're the line," He sighed. "Between the world, and the much weirder world. We protect people from news they aren't ready to hear. And when we can't do that, we keep them safe."**

"That's a good way of putting it," Natasha agreed.

"That's a good way of justifying it." Tony corrected. They shot each other glares.

 **Hill tilted her head. Ward continued, pulling the small cloth pouch from his jacket. "Something turns up, like the Chitauri Neural Link," He pulled it out of the pouch and held up a small metal object.**

"Chitauri what now?" Clint asked, confused.

"The Chitauri Neural Link is a classified object," Vision immediately answered. "I cannot explain what it is. Mainly because our author doesn't know either, but thought somebody would probably ask."

"Huh?"

 **Ward slid it across the table to Hill. Words appeared at the bottom of the screen, in white:** _ **Agent Hill's Field Office. Location: Classified.**_ " **We get to it before someone bad does." Ward finished. Hill examined the link. It looked link a part of a spine, ridged and shiny black metal.**

"That thing is disgusting," Wanda decided.

 **Hill stood up and walked to a man who was standing expectantly with an open black case. "Any idea who Vanchat was planning on selling it to?"  
** " **I'm more interested in how this Rising Tide group found out about it." Ward said, obviously hoping for answers. "I thought they were just hackers. What changed?"  
** " **Everything's changing," Hill said, hands on hips. "A little while ago people went to bed thinking the craziest thing in the world was a billionaire, in a flying metal suit."**

Tony gave a fake grin, raised his hands, and pointed at himself enthusiastically. "Ooh, ooh, that's me! That's me!"

"We know, Tony," Steve rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

"Take a joke, Steve?" Bruce said, a little miffed at Steve. Tony looked surprised Bruce had sided with him, but didn't comment.

" **Then aliens invaded New York, and were beaten back by, among others, a giant green monster, a costumed hero from the forties, and a god."**

"Two things," Tony said, holding up two fingers. "He's not a god, and he's not a monster. She only got one out of two."

"And she left out me and Nat!" Clint said, pretending to be hurt. "Way to be a jerk, Hill."

" **I don't think Thor is technically a god," Ward said, frowning at her.**

"Thank you," Tony and Clint said at the same time.

"Close enough," Thor actually did look a little hurt. "More godly than any of you."

" **Well, you haven't been near his arms." Hill shrugged.**

Everyone but Thor (who was red-faced) and Vision (who was confused) laughed. "I'm thinking I'm starting to like watching this," Steve smiled. "It's actually not so bad."

"Say that at my funeral after Pepper murders me for not showing up," Tony sighed.

 **Ward pursed his lips. Hill kept talking. "The Battle of New York was the end of the world. This, now, is the new world."**

"I can't tell if that's inspiring or depressing," Clint frowned.

"Little of column A, little of column B." Tony shrugged.

" **People are different," Hill continued. "They have access to tech, to formulas, secrets they're not ready for."**

 **Ward leaned forward, getting tired with her speech. "Why was I pulled out of Paris?"**

" **That you'll have to ask Agent Coulson."**

Natasha, Steve, Clint, Tony, Thor, and Bruce all froze. Wanda and Vision exchanged slightly confused looks. "Who's Agent Coulson?" Wanda asked curiously.

"A friend," Clint said stiffly. "Died in the battle of New York. And if she just said that this is after the Battle of New York-"

"Are there some meds Hill is taking? Or should be taking?" Tony guessed.

"Is it possible that Coulson lived?" Bruce asked, glancing at Thor, who had been there when Coulson had been stabbed through the heart by Loki.

"Nay," Thor said darkly. "I wish it was so, but I saw my brother's scepter go straight through Coulson's heart. He could not have survived a wound like that."

"Everyone mourned him," Natasha nodded, trying to convince herself. "Clint and I went to his funeral. It's not possible that he's alive. He just isn't. I wish he was but he isn't."  
" **Uh… yeah." Ward gave a clearly fake smile. "I'm clearance level six. I know that Agent Coulson was killed in action, before the Battle of New York."**

"Maybe Hill's just crazy," Clint suggested. "That's possible, right?"

 **The screen changed to show a dark corner. Ward finished, "Got the full report."**

 **Then Agent Coulson stepped out of the shadows. "Welcome to level seven."**


	2. Chapter Two

_**Hey sorry I haven't been updating, I am having computer problems. It causes me to have to download and move every chapter multiple times before it will accept it, I am working on fixing this. I will have the next chapter up by the end of the month.**_

 _ **Reviews are welcomed and encouraged.**_

 **Chapter Two**

For a minute, everyone was quiet. Clint had one hand pressed to his mouth, the other gripping the arm of his chair so hard he was tearing the upholstery with his fingernails. Steve was shaking his head like it wasn't true, like he couldn't believe it was true. Tony was grinning, but still looked shocked. Thor had a look on his face that was somewhere between dread and delight, and Bruce only showed a small smile. Wanda and the Vision, who had never personally met Coulson, were both smiling on their friend's behalfs.

Natasha didn't know how to feel.

She either wanted to grin or track down Fury and smack him across his stupid smug evil face. There was no way he hadn't known, and yet he had lied to them. He had let them think their friend was dead, and there were few people Natasha called true friends. But she had mourned for Coulson, and now there was was, smirking on the paused TV screen.

"This cannot be true," Thor insisted. "This is-this is one of Loki's tricks, a deceit. This isn't…. this cannot…."

"Why not?" Tony challenged. "Fury pulled a fast one! Coulson's alive!"

"We don't know that," Steve warned, his face clouding over. "Thor's right, this could be a trick."

"I saw Coulson die with my own eyes. I consider him a friend but I will not be home to false hope." Thor shook his head, standing up to pace back and forth.

"If I may," The Vision said politely. "These videos are entirely true. Agent Phillip Coulson is alive."

Someone squeezed Natasha's shoulder. She looked up to see Clint, smiling. His eyes were bright, and Natasha's stomach jumped. She had never seen Clint cry before-at least not from happiness.

"I can't believe it," Natasha found herself whispering. "I can't believe it."

"I don't." Steve frowned. "The more I think about it, the more impossible it seems. I'm level eight, so why wasn't I told earlier?"

"Hey, that's right," Tony said, his smile hesitating. "Aren't you a level eight, too, Katniss?"

"That doesn't prove anything." Clint argued. Natasha was feeling a little ill. She was also a level eight. So why hadn't she been told? Why hadn't she known? She should've known. She should've just _known._

"Neither does that!" Steve waved his hand in the direction of the TV screen.

"I'm sorry about your friend," Wanda interrupted. "But maybe we will find out more if we keep watching. Besides, if Vision says it's true, then I trust him."

"It's not that we don't trust him." Bruce said hesitantly. "But what if he's wrong? Vision, who gave you these for us to watch?"

"I cannot tell you." Vision shook his head. "I am sorry. But I agree with Wanda, we should keep watching. Hopefully your questions will be answered."

Nobody was happy, none of their questions were answered, and everyone was feeling horrible, but they all found a seat again. The TV unpaused itself, like it knew they were ready to watch.

 **"Got the full report." Ward was saying. Coulson again walked out of the shadows, looking grim and a little full of himself at the same time.**

 **"Welcome to level seven."**

 **Ward rose from his chair, staring in awe. Coulson broke into a smile. "Sorry, that corner was really dark, and I couldn't help myself. I think there's a bulb out." He glanced over his shoulder. Ward looked incredulous.**

"I doesn't seem like him." Natasha said, wishing she wasn't the one to say the words. "He's usually very professional."

"Having everyone think he's dead could've changed him," Tony argued. "It seems like a bit far to go for a mid-life crisis, though."

"I agree with Nat." Clint said sadly, rubbing his face tiredly. "I'm not so sure it's him… I was before, but now… that's not like him."

"We'll see." Vision said patiently.

 **The view changed to a sunny street, a bus just pulling up to the stop. The man in the hood, Ace's father from the beginning, was walking down the street, glancing at the newspaper scrap in his hand and up at the shops around him again.**

 **The camera moved down as he walked past, and we could see the young woman who had been filming him on the street when he made his first appearance. She stared after him, then leapt up from her seat at the bustop and followed him quickly.**

"She could by Hydra." Wanda suggested. "That might be why she's following him."

"If she was Hydra, she'd have more kevlar and less bangle bracelets." Natasha shook her head. "I think she must be working solo."

"She found a superhero's secret identity working solo?" Tony nodded appreciatively. "Impressed. And I'm not impressed often."

 **The scene changed again, to an opening elevator door. In the elevator was Hill, Coulson, and Ward. As they walked out Ward started talking. "Director Fury faked your death, to motivate the Avengers?"**

"That douchebag." Bruce muttered. Everyone was a little surprised-most of them hadn't heard him swear before.

"He lied about Coulson… to motivate us?" Clint asked, his face hardening. "That's a low blow, Fury."

"When we're done watching this, we're finding Fury and we're getting some answers." Steve decided.

"That was ever in doubt?" Tony raised his eyebrows.

 **"Well, the death of a common ally is a particularly effective team builder." Hill said.**

"I can't believe she was in on it, too." Clint sighed.

"I can." Natasha muttered.

 **"Say cheese." The computer intercom said politely as they reached a glass door. Coulson, Ward, and Hill's ID badges all appeared on a clear screen, then the door unlocked for them.**

 **"Plus, it wasn't that much of a stretch. I stopped breathing for about forty seconds." Coulson and Ward both grabbed a glass door and pulled them open, Hill walking through first.**

 **"Eight, it gets longer every time you tell it." Hill said, leading them into a larger room full of agents in suits and ID badges.**

"Only eight seconds?" Thor murmured. "Did they bring him back with magic?"

"Nah," Tony said. "Thing called a defibrillator."

"They hit him with electricity and started his heart," Bruce explained to Thor's confused look.

 **"Yeah, well, if you get shanked by the Asgardian Mussolini you can tell it your way." Coulson responded.**

"See? It doesn't sound like him." Natasha said. "He's too… happy, almost."

 **"I was lookin' at the big white light and it felt like a lot longer than eight seconds." Coulson continued, pausing at a desk and picking up a badge, which he clipped to his suit. Ward took one as well, and he had another question.**

 **"Do they know? The Avengers, that Fury played them?"**

"No!" Tony scowled at the screen. "At least somebody here thought of us, all our pain and suffering."

"Shut up, Tony," Clint snapped. "I saw Coulson's girlfriend at the funeral. And from how heartbroken she looked, I don't think they told her either."

"That's kind of evil." Wanda said. "I cannot imagine if… if Pietro was alive, and I did not know." Vision patted her hand comfortingly.

 **"They aren't level seven." Hill replied.**

"Yeah we are," Steve said defensively. "I can't believe she just lied like that."

"After they all told us Coulson was dead, you can't believe she just lied?" Tony raised his eyebrows. "You're too trusting, spangles."

 **"Got out of ICU, Fury stuck me in a grass shack in Tahiti. Rough gig. Mai tais, Travis McGee novels, and a physical therapist whose command of English was… irrelevant." They walked around a corner and through another glass door, into a room full of banks of computers with complicated glowing maps and graphs on them.**

 **"Well something put you back in the game," Ward said, obviously asking. "What is that?" Someone had pulled up the video from the young woman's phone on the screens, and they watched the hooded man jump from the burning building with the unconscious woman in his arms.**

"That's gotta be hard on his knees," Steve muttered.

 **"That's a superhero, Agent Ward." Coulson said, arms folded.**

 **"An unregistered gifted," Hill said, leaning over another computer. "Identity unknown." She pressed a button, and the narrator woman's voice played over another video clip.**

 _ **"The secret's out,**_ **" She said.** _ **"For decades, your organization….**_ **" Her voice was drowned out by others in different languages as other video clips popped up, showing other superheroes, fire, and chaos.**

"Isn't that 'secrets out' thing the intro we heard earlier?" Clint asked.

"I think so," Bruce nodded.

"So we were only watching another video clip that SHIELD owned," Thor said thoughtfully. "Does that mean this entire moving picture was created by SHIELD as well?"  
"Maybe." Tony frowned. "But it wouldn't be so hard for someone to hack SHIELD. Or just find that video online, if that's where SHIELD got it."

"That doesn't narrow down possible creators." Natasha scowled.

 **"Another little present from the Rising Tide." Coulson said, watching the screens with an impassive face.**

 **"How are they getting this stuff before us?" Ward asked, annoyed, waving his hands to take in the screens.**

 **"Same way they cracked our RSA implementation. They're good. So I need better."**

"They cracked SHIELD's RSA implementation?" Stark said, frowning. "I thought I was the only one who had done that. Dammit!"

"Sorry, Tony," Bruce shook his head. "You have to share sometimes, you know."

 **"Agent Coulson has requisitioned a mobile command unit to which you are assigned." Hill informed Ward. Coulson had walked around the bank of computers to pick up a binder and flip it open, then close it again and tuck it under his arms.**

 **"The Rising Tide is trying to draw us out," Coulson said. "Think it's time they succeeded."**

"Okay, that does sound more like Coulson." Natasha admitted. "But I still doubt it's really him."

"Ah, c'mon," Tony argued. "It's like you people _want_ him to be dead." Natasha knew her face had flushed with anger. How dare he imply she wanted her own friend dead? But she kept her face neutral and kept her eyes on the screen in front of her.

"That's not what we mean by doubting it, Tony," Steve said.

"We just don't want to get up false hope." Bruce agreed. Tony looked at Bruce, honestly a little hurt.

"Hey, I thought you were on my side, Brucie."

"I am, I'm just-"  
"Whatever." Tony folded his arms, turning back to the screen. Bruce looked hurt, but said nothing. Natasha frowned a little. Something weird was going on with them.

 **"You want me to cross them off." Ward nodded slightly.**

 **"Wow," Coulson said, shaking his head with a slight snort. "No." Hill raised her eyebrows, with an** _ **told-you-so**_ **look.**

Natasha was willing to bet that she had told Coulson ahead of time that Ward would immediately jump to that conclusion. She felt for Ward, judged because he assumed they wanted people dead.

 **"I want to use them to get to him," Coulson said, inclining his head to the photo of the hooded hero still on the screen. "This man's world is about to get very weird. He's gonna need some help."**

 **Ward frowned, shaking his head as he talked. "I'm sorry. I was trained from day one as a specialist. I go in,** _ **alone,**_ **I get it done. Defusing a nuclear bomb? I'm your guy. A welcoming committee? Not my speed." He folded his arms.**

"Is that how it felt when you joined the Avengers?" Steve asked Natasha suddenly. Natasha was surprised by the question, and even more by the answer that escaped before she could stop it.

"No, I was glad to be joining a team."

Steve smiled slightly and turned back to the TV. Natasha wanted to kick herself. Why had she been so honest? That was embarrassing. She just had to learn to keep aloof, keep stern. That would make it easier if ever she had to cross off one of her teammates.

 **"I know it's not what you want," Coulson said, opening his binder. "Agent Hill did a very detailed assessment of your last three missions. Combat," Coulson shook his head. "Top grades. Espionage? She gave you the highest marks since Romanoff."**

Natasha felt her stomach jump again, involuntarily. "I think that's where I know him from. Someone told me a newbie almost beat my score."

"Ward's as good as you, huh?" Tony smirked. "About time."

"Almost." Natasha glared.

 **Coulson frowned at the next page. "Under people skills, she drew a-" He hesitated. "I think it's a little poop, with knives sticking out of it."**

Wanda, Tony, and Clint all snorted. "So that's also pretty Natasha-like." Tony rolled his eyes. "What's the word for that? Natashaesque?"

"Leave her alone, Tony," Steve shook his head.

"I don't need you to stand up for me. I can do it myself." Natasha muttered to him.

"I know. Doesn't mean I can't help."

 **Ward leaned around to see the paper himself. Hill raised a finger in protest. "It's-"**

 **"That's bad, right?" Coulson said, glancing at Ward. "And given your family history, I'm surprised it's not worse." They could see Ward's cheek twitched as he clenched his jaw. "But," Coulson closed the binder again. "I think you're the guy for this. If I'm wrong, you can go straight back to your bombs."**

 **The glass door opened again and an older black man in a white lab coat with graying hair walked in. "Team's approved, physicals are all fine. Fitzsimmons is not cleared for combat, I'm told that won't be an issue. Agent Ward here, he's almost too fit."**

 **Ward's ears perked up. "That's an issue," He said stepping forward and pointing at the papers the older agent had given Hill. "That should be an issue. Maybe I can't join the team because I'm-"**

"This guy's trying way to hard to back out of it." Clint said, frowning suspiciously at the screen.

"Maybe he's just not a people person." Wanda shrugged. "It does not mean anything sinister."

"But it could." Clint grumbled.

 **"God, are you dismissed." Hill muttered without looking up from the papers. Ward looked a little affronted, but turned and left, trying to regain his dignity.**

 **Once he was gone, Hill looked, annoyed, and Coulson. "It was a porcupine. It was not a poop. It just means that you need to-" Coulson frowned at the binder.**

 **Coulson shook his head. "No, I'm sure."**

"Porcupine or poop, does it really matter?" Thor shook his head. "Both are equally bad."

"I'm kinda surprised you know what a porcupine is, Thor," Bruce frowned.

"My lady Jane took me to the museum of the natural sciences," Thor explained. "So that I might learn more about Midgard and all its plants and creatures."

 **"And it's not just Ward," Hill continued. "Your whole roster is sketchy."**

 **"Well," Coulson said, getting a little defensive. "They're cleared."**

 **The doctor spoke up again. "I would've been very happy not to clear you, Phil. I'd love for you to rest up some more."**

 **"I've had plenty of that. Thanks." Phil said.**

"Is it just me or does that doctor look really familiar?" Tony frowned at the screen.

"I think I've seen him on a TV show, yeah," Clint frowned.

"He looks like the shepard from _Firefly_." Steve suggested. At everyone's curious looks, he gave a defensive shrug. "What? It was on my list of things to catch up on."

 **"You sure?" Hill asked, in a surprisingly kind voice.**

 **"You should go sometime," Was Coulson's only response.**

 **"Where?"**

 **"Tahiti. It's a magical place."**

 **Hill sniffed. "Three days in I'd be begging for an assignment."**

 **"Exactly." Coulson nodded. He turned and left the room. As soon as he was gone, the smile fled Hill's face. She looked worried, or maybe just blank.**

 **"Tahiti," The doctor said bitterly. He wasn't smiling either. "He really doesn't know, does he?"**  
 **"He can never know." Then Hill left as well.**

"Um, okay… what?" Tony frowned.

"Maybe they're talking about Coulson's death-life near-death experience thing." Clint suggested.

"Maybe he was in the Bahamas but nobody wants to tell him." Steve suggested. "It doesn't really matter that much. Let's just keep watching, I'm sure we'll find out everything."

 **The scene on the screen changed again to a coffee shop. Ace's father was sitting alone at a booth by the window, sipping coffee. He watched the news on an overhead TV, where the woman he had saved from the explosion was talking excitedly to paramedics. "Is there any way I can thank him? Are you sure nobody saw him?"**

"That's my favorite thing about heroing," Tony sighed. "All the grateful girls."

"Except, of course, you're with Pepper, so that wouldn't really matter to you, would it?" Bruce raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah…." Tony sighed. "But it's still nice."

 **The newscaster started talking. "So the identity of the hooded hero still remains unknown as…"**

 **The man looked down at his newspaper and circled a section of the want ads.**

"Oh, job hunting." Wanda winced. "That sucks. Especially with a son to take care of."

"He seems like a good dad, anyway, though." Steve said, remembering Ace and his father at the beginning of the video. "He'll find something."

"If he doesn't get blown up first." Bruce mumbled.

 **Someone sat down across from him in his booth. It was the young woman who had been following him.**

"Her again!" Clint said, scowling at the screen. "Who _is_ this girl?"

 **She glanced around nervously, setting her purse next to her, like she wanted to be sure nobody was watching them. "Just act natural." She told Ace's father, nervously glancing back into the other tables.**

"She's making it pretty obvious that she's trying to act natural." Natasha said, unimpressed. "Not very good at this."  
"She is inexperienced," Thor said. "Give her some time."

 **"What?" The man asked, confused.**

 **"Just-pretend that we're talking."**

 **"We are." He said, looking confused and giving her a sideways look like she was quite possibly insane.**

 **"Good," The woman said. "Cause you never know who's listening."**

"Inexperienced, but still paranoid." Steve nodded. "She'll be a good agent yet."

"I dunno…" Clint frowned. "She seems more tinfoil hat paranoid then agent paranoid."

 **"I don't even know who's talking," The man said, obviously hoping for her name.**

 **"I'm Skye," The woman said excitedly. "And you're the hooded hero. Please tell me that you're not staying with that name."**

"The hooded hero isn't a good name." Clint agreed with the TV. "But what about… The Hood? That could be an archer. Like, if they dressed all in green Robin-Hood style."

"Can we stop with the stupid references to stuff we shouldn't be able to know about?" Wanda sounded annoyed. "The author is getting lazy and we're only on chapter two."

"I'm sorry?" Vision asked, confused.

"Nothing," Wanda shook her head. "Forget about it."

 **"Wait-what? I'm not-I'm a factory worker." Skye took three salt packets and rearranged them on the table.**

 **She laughed at him. "Sure-by day. I** _ **saw**_ **you. You're a hero! Like a for real superhero, which is like-I'm not, like, a groupie stalker type, but-" She broke into laughter. "That's cool! That is** _ **so**_ **cool!" She calmed herself down. "Okay, okay, chill. Just don't draw attention." She breathed. "You're in danger."**

"So she's trying to help him?" Bruce asked, confused. "I was sure she was a bad guy."

"She could still be leading him into a trap." Natasha pointed out. "We have no reason to trust her." She could almost sense Tony rolling his eyes.

 **"You've got the wrong guy, lady," The man insisted.**

"Well, he is definitely persistent." Thor nodded. "A good liar."

"He's making too much eye contact." Natasha frowned. "And he's nervous, you can tell."

"Okay, he's a good liar if he wasn't lying to an uber-trained superspy." Clint said, making her smile.

 **"No, you've got the wrong approach," Skye insisted. She ducked a thumb over her shoulder to the TV. "The cute girl from the hospital is dying to thank you, and possibly** _ **thank you**_ **-" She raised her eyebrows at him. "And you're hiding! The clip of you rescuing her has had the most hits since that puppy with vertigo. And you-" She inclined her head to his newspaper. "Can't even find a job."**

 **The man bitterly folded up his newspaper, and leaned back in his seat to look at her. "What do you mean about danger?" He finally asked.**

"Well it's about time he asked," Tony sounded annoyed. "I want to know."

 **"SHIELD." Skye said, with another anxious look around the cafe.**

"Hey!" Steve protested. "We're trying to help him!"

"She must be evil, if she's trying to turn him against SHIELD." Bruce decided.

"I don't know…" Tony hesitated.

"That's a first." Clint rolled his eyes.

"I don't know if SHIELD isn't really the threat here." Tony snapped. "Also, shut up, Daddy Hawk. I think that it might be best if he did stay away from SHIELD. This chick Skye probably only knows what she's seen online, and that's not good stuff, that's conspiracy men-in-black stuff. She probably thinks she totally is saving him."

"That's very possible," Bruce said, looking surprised.

"Always the tone of surprise." Tony pretended to pout. "I know how people think."

"I mean it." Bruce smiled. "That's clever." Tony smiled back.

 **"Shield what?" The man said, confused. "I should carry a shield?"**

"Ha ha. Captain America reference." Clint rolled his eyes.

"It is not just Steven who carries a shield, Clinton." Thor reminded him. "It is very common among Asgardian warriors. In fact, it is only Midgardians who find them unusual."

 **"SHIELD," Skye corrected him. "Scary men in dark suits who come after guys like you. They knew about the battle of New York before it even happened, and they cleaned it up before anyone could ask any real questions. Overnight." The man looked down at the table, like he was finally listening to her.**

"She makes it sound awful." Natasha shook her head. "We only knew about it because we were trying to stop it."

"Told you," Tony nodded sagely. "Chat room conspiracy theorist."

 **"How long do you think it'll take for them to clean you up?" Skye demanded.**

 **"And you want to know why I'm hiding."**

 **"What if you didn't hide?" Skye asked, leaning forward like she was making an important point, which she was. "What if you got out in front of this, and let people know that you're a hero?" The man still didn't look sure.**

 **"I'm just a guy," The man said, uncertain.**

"All heroes start out as just guys," Steve said. "Or girl's," He said, inclining his head to Wanda and Natasha.

 **"Well a guy like that gets work. Gets perks." She rearranged the salt packets on the counter again, three of them moving positions. "I can help. I'm great with computers, like,** _ **weirdly**_ **great. I could help you create a whole new identity, or-" She was so excited she almost couldn't get out the next words. "A mask?"**

"He should get a mask." Wanda said. "Hoods don't hide your identity at all. Your entire face still shows."

 **"Oh-kay," The man said, snatching his newspaper and standing up.**

 **"Or-we-I mean-" Skye hurried after him. "We could just-also we could just-stick with the hood." Skye chased after the man and they both stopped at a counter with stools ringed around it. "You cannot walk away from this. With great power comes… a ton of weird crap that you are not prepared to deal with! Now, my office is right-" The man had started to walk away, to the door of the cafe, and Skye had followed again.**

 **"** _ **You**_ **have an office?" He stopped to raise an eyebrow at her.**

"I was kind of wondering the same thing," Steve admitted, frowning at the TV. "She doesn't seem like the kind of person to hold down a steady job."

 **"** _ **Yes**_ **, I have an office," She said, acting a little affronted. She tugged on the straps of her purse over her shoulder, like a nervous tick. "It's a mobile… office. It's a… van, I live in a van, by choice, but it's always in the alley around the corner, free wifi, and and… you can come by anytime!" She finished her speech smiling again.**

 _She definitely does have a lot of energy,_ Natasha thought. She was getting tired just watching Skye, always excited and energetic. Natasha was by now thinking longingly of her sunny lounge chair on the balcony, and the long day of napping she had had planned. Watching TV wasn't so bad, but it wasn't what she'd had in mind, especially not when the bombshell about Coulson had been dropped.

She started going through the people she knew that were dead. Were any of the others still alive? Was that good or bad or did she even know? Did she feel better or worse now that Coulson was back? She didn't know. She hated having emotions. It might look on the outside like she was blank and unconnected, but on the inside she was affected by Coulson's death more then she wanted anyone to know.

Steve seemed to sense her dismay, and looked down at her with worry. " _Are you okay?_ " He mouthed, not bothering the others. Nice of him.

Natasha nodded, but he didn't seem convinced. "I'm fine." She said, a little more tersely then she had planned. Steve shrugged and put an arm around her shoulders. Natasha's face felt hot, but she made herself relax. She actually did feel better.

 **"Thank you." The man said, turning and leaving without another word. He clearly wasn't interested.**

 **"They're coming for you!" Skye smiled and waved after him.**

"Okay, that's just creepy." Clint decided.

 **As he left, she turned back to the counter and pulled something out of her pocket. It was an ID, with the man's picture on it. His name read;** _ **Michael Peterson.**_ **"Mike." She said.**

"She stole his ID?" Tony nodded appreciatively. "Nice sticky fingers."

"I didn't see her do it," Wanda frowned at the TV. "Normally I would notice. She must be really good at slight of hand."

 **The scene changed to a large grey dimly-lit SHIELD office. Rows of cubicles and desks and fluorescent lights went in every direction. The room was mostly empty, but for one woman sitting in the cubicle at the end with her back to the camera. The camera zoomed in on her, showing her face. She was an Asian woman with an expression on her face that showed you nothing.**

 **"Agent May," Came Coulson's voice.**

 **"No." She said, without looking up.**

"Agent Belinda May?" Natasha asked. "I definitely know her. I've gone on a couple of missions with her. Even _she_ knew about Coulson and she didn't tell me?" She found herself leaning into Steve and feeling better.

 **"So you've been briefed," Coulson walked slowly around her cubicle until he was facing her.**

 **"I'm not going back in the field." May said, without looking up.**

"May left the field?" Clint frowned. "Damn, I've been Avengering for so long I don't even know any of the good SHIELD gossip anymore."

 **"Yeah," Coulson said, glancing around at the other cubicles. "You've got such a nice setup here. You ever thought about adding a moat?"**

Tony and Clint snorted. Wanda smiled.

 **May finally looked up, unimpressed. "I just need you to drive the bus," Coulson assured her. "Liaise, ground transpo, some on-site supervision. This isn't a combat op."**

 **"Then you don't need me."**

"I wonder why she left the field," Natasha mused. "She was always a great fighter. I remember liking her."

"I like her, too," Clint nodded. "But instead of being a field agent she's gone into _admin_." He pretended to shudder. He, too, had noticed Natasha's discomfort and was trying to cheer her up. Natasha didn't know what she'd do without Clint as a best friend-and Laura. They had both made her feel welcome, like she was part of their family.

 **"I do," Coulson said, walking around the cubicle again so she was facing him. "Because we'll be running ourselves. Picking the ops, making the calls. No red tape." She was looking at him now, intrigued. "This is where they actually make the red tape, isn't it?" He glanced around, the vague Coulson-trademarked smile on his face. "I've always wondered."**

"Red tape?" Thor asked. "What does this mean?"  
"It is restrictions." Wanda explained. "Like 'bureaucratic red tape'." At everyone's surprised looks, she flushed. "Vision has been teaching me American phrases." Vision nodded. He had had been eerily quiet until now.

" **Melinda." Coulson said. She let the ghost of a smile cross her face.**

 **"You're really just asking me to drive the bus?"**  
 **"I'm not asking," Coulson said. He shifted and headed towards the door. She frowned. "But it's a really nice bus," He added.**

"Okay, I'm confused on the bus thing," Bruce said. "Are they actually driving a bus around?"  
"Yeah." Tony agreed. "I keep picturing all of us piling into a school bus, going on a mission-maybe having matching sweaters."

"They mean a plane, I think," Steve explained. "Shorthand."

 **The view changed to a SHIELD hangar, where a large sleek black plane was sitting with it's nose sticking out the front doors.**

Clint whistled appreciatively. "That is a nice bus."

 **They saw Agent Ward walking towards the plane, carrying a black duffle. He took off his sunglasses as he approached, looking expectantly up at the great hulking black chunk of metal.**

"What's that music in the background?" Wanda had to ask. "I have not heard it before."

"Me neither." Vision frowned. "It is not in any of my databases."

"It sounds a little familiar," Natasha frowned. "I can't place it."  
"I can." Clint groaned. "At SHIELD academy, when I had just joined up. They play that music really loudly every morning to wake up all the recruits. The trumpet that does well. It's practically SHIELD's theme song *****."

"That's it," Natasha nodded. "I can't believe I forgot it, we all hated that music."

 **Ward walked up the open cargo bay hatch of the plane, past a black van. At the top of the ramp was a pile of suitcases, normal cases, and trunks. Two people were fussing over the bags, a man and a woman. The woman picked up something silver, and the man hurried over with a panicked, "Hey, woah woah woah! Careful, that's the Night-Night gun." He took it from her hands and cradled it in his arms, and they could see it was a sniper rifle made of silver and chrome.**

"The Night-Night gun?" Steve asked. "Am I the only one who doesn't know what that is?"  
"Nay," Thor shook his head. "I am also confused."

"Yeah… it's not one of mine. Those two must've built it. And you know it's not mine from the stupid name," Tony snickered.

 **"Well it's on my stuff and it doesn't work, and there's no way we're calling it the Night-Night gun." The woman said, grabbing another bag. She had a British accent, and the man had a Scottish one.**

"At least someone around here has some sense. Name it something like 'Darkhawk'." Clint advised, like the TV could hear him.

 **"The bullets** _ **work,**_ **" The man insisted, the camera following the young man and woman into the open doors in the plane behind them, showing a lab with tables and computers and holo screens. "Nonlethal, heavy stopping power, break up under the subcutaneous tissue-"**

 **The man carefully set the Night-Night gun into a metal case as the woman argued. "Oh, with a dose of only .1 microliters of dendrotoxin! I'm not Hermione, I can't create instant paralysis with that."**

"I think it's possible," Bruce frowned. "But it would be very difficult."

"It is possible." The Vision said. "The Night-Night gun is commonly used by Agent Coulson's team, and is listed in the SHIELD database as having been created by the pair we are watching now."

"What are their names?" Clint pressed.

"I cannot tell you. You will see." The Vision said, his mouth clamping shut. A small groan rose from everyone in the room.

 **As the young man and woman argued, you could see more about them. The woman had dark brown hair and eyes, and the man had curly blond hair and a hoodie over a button-up shirt.**

 **"You should have run the specs by me before building the molds," The woman argued.**

 **"The bullets are hollow, it's a miracle I can keep them from breaking apart in the chamber!" They started talking over each other, their voices rising.**

 **"Or used a high-caliber round-"**

 **"Read a book!"**

"Burn." Tony smirked. "I like these guys. They're annoying, but they seem smart."

"They aren't annoying," Bruce rolled his eyes. _They kind of are,_ Natasha thought. She wished they'd stop arguing, they'd only been on screen fifteen seconds and already they were giving her a headache.

 **"Have you ever heard of physics? Or, what's the other one,** _ **inertia?**_ **"**

 **"It's not particularly difficult-"**

 **Ward dropped his bag heavily on the floor, getting both of their attention and stopping the argument dead. His face was blank, but he was obviously unamused. "Fitzsimmons?" He asked, sounding like he wanted to be somewhere else.**

"Isn't Fitzsimmons the guy who's not cleared for combat?" Steve remembered.

"If one of them is Agent Fitzsimmons, who is the other?" Wanda asked. "Is only one of them going on Coulson's team?"

 **"Fitz," The woman said, pointing at the man.**

 **"Simmons," Fitz said, pointing at the woman in turn.**

Tony started laughing. "They're the same-Fitzsimmons is actually two-that makes so much sense."

Everyone was starting to smile except for Natasha. Even Wanda looked amused, and she didn't normally smile much. Even the Vision, who wasn't good at emotions. Natasha was too exasperated with the couple to be able to laugh.

 **"I'm engineering, she's biochem." Fitz said, sounding a little disgusted with his partner.**

"Like me and Bruce. Science Bros!" Tony held out a fist to Bruce, who looked at it quizzically. "Don't leave me hanging here, man."

"Oh, right," They fistbumped.

 **"Agent… Ward?" Fitz checked.**

 **Ward didn't bother answering, just pulled something small and shiny from his jacket. "Coulson said I'd need my com receiver encoded." He handed it off to Fitz, who glanced at it, and set it down on his workstation. "Don't know if you've worked with that model before." Ward continued. "It's-"**

 **Fitz smashed the com receiver with a hammer.**

 **"Brand new." Ward finished.**

This time, Tony wasn't the only one to crack up. Clint and Thor joined in. Even Natasha had to smile, just a little. The dark haze of finding out that Coulson was still alive seemed to have lifted from the group a little, from her especially. Coulson was alive and well, and when she thought about it, wasn't that really a good thing?  
 **"He'll repurpose the IDIS chip." Simmons said, bending over a table and working on something else.**

 **"Don't need the external receiver for the inner-ear coms anymore," Fitz said, picking up a piece and tossing it aside.**

 **Ward started to ask, "So how does it-"**

 **Then Simmons was standing in front of him, with a cotton ball stuck in his mouth. He made a sound like someone at the dentist's trying to talk. "Embedded sensorineural silicone matched to your DNA." Simmons explained, swabbing the inside of his cheek.**

"That one was the work of the Science Bros." Tony interrupted.

 **She took it out and headed back to her workspace. "It's very posh. So," Simmons continued, ignoring Ward's clear unhappiness. "Are you excited to be coming on our journey into mystery?"**

" **It's like Christmas." He said, without emotion.**

"He reminds me of you, Lady Natasha," Thor said. "Though you are more beautiful, and probably a better warrior."

Natasha sniffed. "Definitely. On both accounts."

 **There was a sound of tires behind them, and a shiny red old-fashioned car pulled up into the plane next to the black truck.**

"Nice car," Clint nodded appreciatively.

" **One of Coulson's old SHIELD collectibles," Fitz said, as they saw Coulson climb from the car and take his sunglasses off.**

"Nice _entrance_." Tony added.

" **Flamethrowers, world's first GPS. He's mad for this crap." Fitz said, rolling his eyes.**

 **A maintenance worker in safety orange tried to open the red car's hood, but Coulson stopped him with a glare. "Don't touch Lola."**

"Really?" Tony sighed. "That is so midlife crisis."

"Second-life crisis, if what they were saying earlier about Coulson is true." Steve mused.

"If Coulson died and came back, then isn't that like restarting the clock on his life?" Bruce wondered. "And if that's true, then isn't Coulson only about two years old, technically?"

Tony grinned. "Hey, yeah! Coulson's a two-year-old!"  
 **"And he calls it a girls name," Fitz smirked. He hit Ward on the back and returned to him and Simmons' lab. The next shot showed Coulson leading Ward (carrying his duffle) up a flight of metal stairs to the second floor of the plane.**

 **"Lola's not just a collectible, you know," Coulson told Ward. "People tend to confuse the words 'new' and 'improved'. This is mobile command," Coulson continued as they walked into a living area. There was mood lighting, a small bar, glass walls with the SHIELD logo printed on them, white leather couches and polished mahogany tables.**

"I think his plane is nicer than my house." Wanda muttered.

"I feel you," Clint nodded.

 **"They were in heavy rotation back in the nineties, but then we got a helicarrier. Hey, did you hear the one about the guy who's afraid of flying?"**

Natasha frowned. That was a joke. Coulson almost never joked, and when he did he didn't smile like the man on screen was doing now. As much as she wanted that to be Coulson, as much as she wanted this to be true, she still couldn't let herself believe it. She couldn't waste time on false hope.

 _There's more then one kind of false hope,_ the nagging voice at the back of her head told her as her eyes strayed to Steve. _Forget about it. It'll never happen._

 _I don't want it to._ Natasha told herself. But for once, she was a bad liar.

 **"I've done a night jump into a drop zone under heavy fire, sir," Ward said, and the smile left Coulson's face. "I can handle it."**

 **"That was a… joke. The-first part of a… I'm not gonna tell it now." Coulson said, as they stopped by an open bunk door.**

 **"If you plan to unpack, make it quick? Wheels are up in five." Agent Melinda May was back, dressed in the same black kevlar bodysuit that Natasha wore.**

"Other people wear that?" Tony raised his eyebrows. "Unoriginal, 'Tasha."

Natasha rolled her eyes.

 **May handed Coulson a folder. "We may have a hit on one of the Rising Tide's routing points."**

 **"Good," Coulson said, flipping through the pages. "We need to do some catching up." May walked away again, back towards the cockpit. Ward stared after her.**

 **"Is that who I think it is?"**

 **"She's just the pilot," Coulson said, glancing up.**

 **"Melinda May is… just the pilot." Ward looked disbelieving. "Come on, sir, what game are you really playing?"**

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Natasha frowned. "I don't remember her having much of a reputation, the last time I worked with her."

"That was a while ago," Clint shook his head. "Something big must've happened since."

 **"Better stow your gear," Coulson said, walking away. Several shots were flashed across the screen of the cargo bay doors of the plane closing, a man in safety yellow waving the plane forward, May flipping switches in the cockpit. The plane was shown rolling out of the hangar in all it's SHIELD glory.**

 **"How will you come at us?" The woman narrator's voice was back. "From the air?"**

 **The SHIELD logo traced onto the back of the plane was shown as the plane left the hangar.**

"Okay, this seriously bothers me," Tony interrupted again. "If SHIELD is supposed to be a super-secret organization, why is their logo painted on a ginormous black plane? Shouldn't everybody notice that?"  
"Not necessarily secret, just advanced." Natasha said, and added in her head, _and the black plane looks really cool._

 **"From the ground?" The narrator's voice continued as the image changed to a battered blue van in a city alleyway. Then the view changed to inside the van, where newspaper clippings and blurry photos of heroes were pinned to the walls. "How will you silence us this time? How can you?" They saw a computer screen with a wave on it, recording her voice.**

 **The SHIELD plane took off. "The truth is in the wind," She said. "It's everywhere." The image was back in the van, passing maps with red marks on them and finally settling on Skye's face, the woman who had found Mike Peterson. "You cannot stop the Rising Tide."**

"I knew she was evil." Bruce muttered.

 **"You will not find us, you will never see our faces, but rest assured-we will rise against those who shield us from the truth. And nothing-** _ **nothing-**_ **can stop us n-"**

 **The door of the van opened, and Coulson and Ward were standing there, glaring in.**

"Great timing." Tony smirked.

 **Skye froze. She turned to face them, smiling innocently. "Hey." She said. "What up?" Then a bag was forced over her head and the screen went dark.**


	3. Chapter Three

I'm back in school so updates will be sporadic.

* * *

"Did they just kidnap Skye?" Tony frowned.

"They didn't kidnap her. They arrested her." Natasha corrected, trying not to scowl at him. He could give SHIELD a good word, just for once. He always assumed the worse, and half of the time Natasha thought it was just because his father had supported SHIELD. Tony had daddy issues.

"Don't people usually get handcuffed when they're arrested, not bagged and dragged?" Steve asked. Natasha scowled, but didn't argue that point (it was a good point) as the video kept playing.

 **On the screen, Coulson and Ward were shown leading a head-bagged Skye up the metal ramp into the Bus. Coulson glanced behind them nervously, as if to make sure they weren't being followed.**

"Couldn't Skye have backup? Or couldn't she be carrying some sort of spyware she wanted to get into a SHIELD base?" Bruce asked nervously.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Wanda agreed. "She is dangerous."  
"You two worry too much," Tony waved his hand. "Nobody voluntarily gets kidnapped.

 **The bag was whipped off Skye's head in a metal interrogation room, dimly lit, with hexagons of metal forming the walls. There was only a metal table and chairs, and Skye was quickly forced to sit down. Coulson closed the door ominously, Ward standing sullenly a little to the side like he was trying to intimidate her.**

"Creepy." Tony muttered.

" **You guys are making a big mistake," Skye said breathily, like she had just finished hyperventilating. Her hair was in her face from the bag pulling-off.**

" **You don't look that big," Ward said without his face changing.**

"Burn." Tony smirked. "I need to remember that."

 **Skye anxiously brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Sorry for the lack of finesse," Coulson said politely, like they were discussing the weather. "Agent Ward here has had a little history with your group. The Rising Tide."  
** **Skye started to deny, "I don't know what you-"  
** " **Okay," Ward interrupted. "There are two ways we can do this."**

" **Oh," Skye smiled in mock innocence. "Is one of them the** _ **easy**_ **way?"**

" **No."**

"The Lady Skye is no doubt going to be harder to break then a few petty insults and implied threats," Thor scowled. "Why do they not charge her with crime as we do on Asgard? Make her fight. If she loses she's arrested, if she wins, she's killed our champion and she _still_ gets arrested."

"Wow." Tony said. "That is seriously really messed up."

"I'm with Stark. For once." Steve said, raised eyebrows up. "That's not a super system, Thor, no offense."

"Wow, the two of us agree on something?" Tony laughed. "That is unusual. Hell, half the time we're practically at a civil war."  
"Nah," Steve shook his head. "Nobody wants that." There was a pause. "Right?"

"Yeah," A couple of people agreed.

"I dunno…." Tony frowned. "I think it'd be kinda cool." *****

" **Oh." The smile slid from Skye's face, like she was kind of embarrassed.**

" **What's your name?" Coulson asked. There was a hesitant pause.**

" **Skye."**

" **What's your** _ **real**_ **name?" Ward asked, glowering at her.**

" **That can wait," Coulson said. "It's another name we need. A certain hero."**

 **Skye hesitated, then shook her head. "What makes you think I know that?"**

 _From the look on your face when he asked you, you're making it a little obvious,_ Natasha thought.

" **Well," Coulson said, sitting down across from her. "You made a little mistake. The phone you filmed the hooded hero with had the same cryptographic signature as a few of the Rising Tide posts." He opened a binder and tossed a paper on the table in front of her.**

"Okay, what's with Coulson and binders?" Tony had to ask. "That's like the thirtieth binder he's had so far in this episode."

"We SHIELD agents need a lot of binders." Clint shrugged. "And it's the third, not thirtieth."

" **Wow, yeah," Skye said, trying to smile again. "Was that a mistake, or am I now sitting in the center of your secret headquarters?" She glanced around at the interrogation room. "What is this… a plane?"**

"How did she know?" Wanda asked, puzzled.

"She went up the ramp," Natasha reminded her. "It's a smaller room, and if the engines are on she might be able to feel them. We'd better go over this again in your training." Wanda's face was pink.

" **I got inside," Skye continued, as Ward shot an uncertain look to Coulson. "And by now you've discovered you can't beat the encryption on my equipment, so, you got nothing." She looked fairly pleased with herself.**

"Are all hackers this arrogant or is it just the ones I know?" Clint asked.

"Okay, first?" Tony held up two fingers. "She's not arrogant, she's cocky. Not the same. And second," He lowered one finger so he was flipping off Clint. "I'm _way_ cooler than her."

" **We've got a fairly strong coincidence." Coulson said, still smiling at Skye. He held up a photo of the burning building from the opening scene. "You, being on the scene? Right before it went up in flames? You wanna tell me what my team is gonna find there?"**

 **The image on the screen changed to show a black van's tires as it rolled to a halt. The image panned out, to show the SHIELD logo on the side of the van as it stopped in front of the building that was now a burned-out husk on the upper floors.**

"I'm honestly surprised that SHIELD stayed hidden so long with their logo on everything." Tony shook his head. "Sloppy form."

"This coming from you?" Clint raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black."

"Tony doesn't put his logo on things," Bruce argued good-naturedly. "Only his _name_ , in big capital letters." Tony pretended to be offended at the jab. Secretly, he was proud that Bruce had managed a little sarcasm in his tone.

 **The doors opened even before the car had really stopped rolling, and Fitzsimmons eagerly climbed out. Simmons squeezed Fitz's shoulders with excitement. May got out of the drivers' side door and studied the scene more warily, glancing up at the smashed windows and then down to the footprints pounded into the cracked concrete where Mike had landed.**

Natasha was trying to think about what had happened to May to keep her out of the field. She had heard a few whispers, years ago now-something about a mission in Bahrain. But nobody knew anything important and she had paid so little attention she had forgotten all about it. She felt guilty now, having ignored something that had clearly drastically changed the fellow agent's life. Something was as different about the May onscreen as there was about the Coulson-she was subdued, and even though she was still quiet and calculating, she wasn't warm. Natasha regretted not seeing May in so long. She hoped that this new team with Coulson would make things better for May.

But she had seen agents torn apart by missions gone wrong-not physically, but emotionally. Sometimes the worst injury was only in your head.

That wouldn't happen to May, she told herself. Coulson's team would fix things. And after they were done watching this, she'd find May and make sure of it.

" **How did you know the hooded man was in the building?" Coulson asked, the image returning to the interrogation.**

" **Did you blow it up to draw him out?" Ward asked. He was standing next to Skye and she looked a little asphyxiated.**

" **Did** _ **you?**_ " **Skye asked hotly, managing to regain a little of her sense of aloofness.**

" **That's not our style." Coulson asked, hands folded on the table in front of him.**

" **I was just kidnapped by your style!" Skye protested. "SHIELD covered up New Mexico, Project Pegasus-of course you'd be covering up Centipede!"**

"Did she seriously just say 'Project Pegasus'?" Steve asked, confused. "Because… wow. I have so many questions."

"No, it's not a vegetable or a mineral. I'm gonna have to go with animal." Tony said, smirking slightly. He stood up and headed for the minibar in the corner of their living room. "Anybody else thirsty?"  
"It's not even noon yet," Bruce said, checking his watch.

Vision frowned. "It is not good for your health to drink alcoholic beverages at this time of day, or-"

"Relax," Tony rolled his eyes, but it was clear he was trying not to smirk. "I meant water."

"He only said water to prove us wrong, didn't he." Bruce frowned.

"Yes." Vision agreed.

 **Coulson's face stayed blank. But Ward took a step back behind Skye and pretended to be scratching his ear. He could quite clearly be seen mouthing to Coulson,** " _ **Centipede?"**_

Clint and Natasha both winced. Even Steve and Bruce, who weren't official agents, knew tha had been a bad move.

"He just blew the interrogation!" Thor cried in dismay. "If I know one thing from battling Loki is that you should never let your enemy know your weaknesses."

"Too late for that, now," Steve groaned.

 **Skye had seen Ward's bad move and started breaking into a grin. "Holy no way," She snorted derivatively. "You don't know what that is.** _ **Billions**_ **of dollars of equipment at your disposal and I beat you with a laptop that I won in a** _ **bet?**_ "

"Now that's just sad," Tony said, sitting back down by Bruce. He was, after all, drinking a glass of amber liquid which Bruce tried not to comment on. "Seriously, a bet? There has to be a better way to get a computer."

Natasha rolled her eyes. Of course that's what he'd be worried about.

" **You need to think about your friend," Coulson said, leaning forward. "We're not the only ones interested in people with powers. We'd like to contain him, yeah. The next guy will want to exploit him, and the guy after that will wanna dissect him."**

" **What is Centipede?" Ward demanded.**

 **The screen changed again, to show Mike on the phone with someone in his kitchen. He sighed, and looked down at a Notice to Vacate. In the living room, Ace was sitting on the floor playing. Mike glanced at him.**

Wanda winced as the screen showed Ace. Her family had never had much money, not even before her parents died and she and Pietro had been on their own. She remembered once, when she was only six, she and Pietro had walked in on her mother sitting at the kitchen table and crying over a piece of paper sticking out of an envelope.

When she realized they were there, she had quickly pulled herself together. As Wanda and Pietro had tried to make her feel better, Wanda had snuck a look at the letter that had upset her mother. At the time, she hadn't understood what a Notice to Vacate was, but now she did.

It was one of Wanda's clearest childhood memories, because it was the first time reality showed it's ugly face.

" **Yeah, I get it, but-" Mike leaned forward and lowered his voice so Ace wouldn't hear him. "Listen, doctor, people saw me! They saw what I can do! If I went public that might be good, I mean your product works. It works** _ **amazingly**_ **and-" He paused again, lifting his sleeve to show what looked like a metal centipede attached to his arm. Pieces of it, that should've been the centipede's body, were glowing orange faintly.**

"Woah," Bruce said, looking impressed. "That thing's attached right to the artery. The chemicals giving him his powers must be in his bloodstream. But then why would it be glowing…?" He trailed off, lost in thought.

" **Yeah, I know what I signed, but if we got out in front of this, then maybe-then what? I'm gonna go crawling back to the factory? I couldn't even get workman's comp from those crooks, I don't think-"  
** **Mike nodded his head as he argued with the person on the other end of the conversation, getting agitated. "Yeah, yeah, doctor, I just thought…" He stopped, clearly drawing himself together. "Okay." He hung up.**

"Poor guy." Clint said sympathetically. "He's only trying to take care of his kid. He's not even doing anything wrong."

 **Mike turned to look at a framed photo of him, younger, with a smiling woman who could only be his wife. He threw the phone at it and smashed the frame angrily.**

Steve winced. He didn't know where the wife was, but if she was dead then Mike probably wasn't going and throwing phones at her photo. Maybe she had convinced him to join centipede?

"According to my databanks," Vision said, seeing the captain's confusion. "Michael Peterson's wife abandoned the family after Michael lost his job, leaving their son Ace with him."

 _Jerk._ Steve thought. He couldn't imagine anyone abandoning their spouse and child just because of losing a job. Natasha, for instance, would never do a thing like that. She was a good person, even if half the time she didn't seem to believe it herself.

" **This was a lab," Simmons said. The screen returned again to the burned-out interior of the exploded building. The walls were crumbling, everything was black from the burn, and the sound of crunching glass followed the three agents as they entered the fallout. "Was this leased as a lab?"**

" **Self empowerment center." May said, staring at something on the ceiling with flashlight in hand. "With a top of the line motion sensor security system."**

" **Ah, so a secret lab," Simmons beamed, staring down at a half-melted dead body on the ground.**

"Nobody should be that happy while staring at a dead body." Thor frowned reproachfully.

"Ah, give 'er a break!" Tony commanded cheerily. "It's a secret lab! Everybody loves 'em."

" **And a superhero," May sighed. "Not a coincidence. So was this explosion sabotage, was it meant for him, or were they just in over their heads?"**

 **Fitz could be seen following the two other agents in, carrying a large case. "Yeah, working that problem. Ladies, if you'll just…." He squeezed past May and Simmons, only having to squeeze because of the wide berth he was giving the body Simmons' was examining. "Sorry."**

Bruce knew how Fitz must feel. He remembered the first dead body he'd seen up close-one of the earlier testers for the Hulk experiment, long before they'd gotten the reaction quite right. The man had died right in front of Bruce, and there had been nothing he could do. He hadn't slept for weeks after.

So when Tony chuckled, "Wimp." Bruce scowled.

 **Fitz crouched and set down his case, opening a half-dozen clasps. "If you're gonna be in the field, Agent Fitz, you have to get your hands dirty."**

" **No…" Fitz had out what looked like a type of iPad, and pressed several icons on screen. "I don't. Hi-ho, off to work you go…."  
** **Seven tiny remote-controlled machines rose from the case. They were a mix of drones and the toy helicopters kids played with. One by one, they shot off in different directions, scanning the room for him.**

"That is actually pretty cool," Tony admitted. "Although, obviously, all of my technology is cooler."

"Obviously." Steve rolled his eyes.

" **Centipede," Skye said. They were back in the interrogation room. "There was chatter on the web, and then…** _ **gone.**_ **I traced the access point mac address to that building."**

" **What were you after?" Ward asked sullenly.**

" **The truth," Skye snapped. "What are you after?"**

" **World peace." He stood up, getting agitated. "You pseudo-anarchist-hacker types love to stir things up, but you're never around for the fallout. People keep secrets for a reason,** _ **Skye.**_ "

"This guy is seriously not very good at interrogating." Clint frowned. "He keeps messing it up."

" **Well just because you're reasonable and…" She poked him in the chest. "** _ **Firm**_ **, doesn't mean that you're not an evil faceless government toolbag."**

"Nice." Tony nodded approvingly. "Delivery needed a little work, though."

" **Just give us your guy's name," Ward sounded exasperated.  
** " **He's not my guy!" Skye protested.**

" **You understand he's in danger." Coulson said, who had been impassively watching the exchange.**

" **Then let me go!" Skye said, pouncing at the chance. "Let** _ **me**_ **talk to him, me, not the T-1000 here."**

" **You want to be alone with him." Ward seemed unimpressed. "Of course." He approached Coulson, stage-whispering so that Skye could clearly hear. "She's a groupie. All this hacking into SHIELD, tracking powers," His voice rose angrily. "She might as well be one of those sweaty cosplay girls crowding around Stark tower!"**

Several sets of eyes went to Tony. "What?" He protested. "I can't keep my fans away."

"I don't think all of those fans are for you, Stark," Steve sighed.

"Please, like any of them are for _you._ "

"I'm just saying, you can't claim credit for all of the work the team has done over the y-"

"Well _I'm_ just saying that you should take your _jealousy_ and stick it-"

"Enough!" Natasha shouted. Even when her voice was loud, she kept her tone neutral so no emotion showed. She was bad at getting attached to things, especially people. "Vision, please continue the tape. _We're done._ " She glared at Steve and Tony, who both seemed a little abashed. Steve even hang his head a little.

" _ **What?!**_ " **Skye protested. "I would-" She shook her head, lowering her voice to mutter, "That was one time."**

Tony smirked smugly. Steve's head hanging was already over with, and he shot his teammate a glare.

 **Coulson was standing at the door of the interrogation room. "Ward." He said, and Ward followed him out of the interrogation room, the door closing behind them. "Is it the girl?" Coulson demanded as they walked into the sunnier more lavishly furnished part of the plane. "Is she getting under your skin?"  
** " **Sir…" Ward sighed.**

" **Or is it the assignment?" Coulson sounded angry. "Are you so desperate to get out of this that you'd deliberately blow an interrogation?"  
** Natasha shook her head disapprovingly. If that was true, then Ward didn't deserve the respect she'd given him earlier. That was immature. Of course… she glanced around at her team. So was her team. Maybe immature wasn't always such a bad thing.

" **Give me a minute alone with her-!" Ward said, as Coulson stopped at the door of a storage unit and typed in an access code. "And I promise, you'll have your answers."**

" **She's an asset." Coulson said, opening the door of the storage unit.**

" **She is** _ **such**_ **an assh-wait, asset?"**

Tony laughed, and he wasn't the only one. Clint and Thor were, right along with him, and Wanda was repressing a smile. Natasha was probably the only one who could hear Steve's light snigger, as she was sitting next to him.

" **We don't know anything about her." Coulson said. He had taken a black case with the SHIELD logo on it from the storage unit, and set it on a glowing table. "Do you appreciate how often that happens? That never happens. We need-" He opened the case, and you could see some kind of gun inside. "What she knows."**

"That's ominous." Wanda muttered. "Are they going to shoot her?"

"That's not a regular gun," Natasha shook her head. "They couldn't shoot her with it if they wanted to, and I doubt they do."

 **The scene changed again to the burned-out lab, where Fitz was controlling his mini drones and Simmons was explaining them to May.**

" **See, they're designed each with their own capabilities, so, um, some are recording the dimensions and textures of the room, and some are testing matter density, radiation, I mean one is basically just smelling."**

"How could a machine smell?" Steve asked, confused. He realized something and turned to Vision. "How do you smell?"

"Hey, yeah…" Clint frowned. "Vision, _can_ you smell?"  
Vision, looked extremely miffed (or as miffed as he was capable of looking) shook his head stiffly. "We should meet this Fitz guy," Tony said thoughtfully, swirling the ice around in his glass. "Get you a sense of smell."

"Why is this so important?" Natasha sighed.

"Tasha," Tony said, looking affronted. "Guy's gotta have a sense of smell." She just shook her head. _You're all ridiculous._

" **Woah, woah, woah, I've got something in… something." Fitz said. The screen of his iPad showed the camera feed that must've been coming from one of his little drones. Across the top was:** _ **04 Bashful**_ **.**

"Bashful?" Tony snorted. "Oh, I bet they're all named after the dwarves from Snow White, right?"  
"Dwarves do not have names like 'Bashful'," Thor said, half confused half annoyed. "They have names like Grindleschneck and Keely and Bob."

"Wow." Tony said. "Not even starting on that one."

" **Oh, who's got it?" Simmons asked.**

" **Ah…" Fitz checked his screen. "Bashful." He pointed to one. May walked over to see what it was the drone had found, treading carefully over the debris on the floor.**

" **Aw," Simmons cooed over Bashful. May climbed over a piece of wreckage to see what it was the drone had found. She picked up something black and plastic.**

" **Surveillance camera." She reported to the other two agents. "Deep-fried."  
** " **Yes, but that model has flash memory in case of fry-outs," Fitz said, and tripped over something. Quickly righting himself, he continued. "Now, I could sync that with the data from the motion detectors, and with a little luck, get some images from before the blast. And by luck I mean unappreciated genius."**

"I know how you feel, buddy," Tony sighed. "I'm a total genius. And I'm way underappreciated."

"You realize your name is in huge neon letters on the side of the building, right?" Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"And that said building is surrounded by a horde of screaming fangirls?" Steve continued.

"And that you have owning shares in a multi-million dollar company?" Bruce finished.

Tony shook his head. "Still not good enough, haters."

" **And you'll need it," Simmons said, still studying the control pad for the drones. "Snow's reading some compounds that are… woah." Simmons crouched to look at something on the floor.**

" **Explosive?" May asked.**

"Probably." Wanda nodded.

" **Not of this earth," Simmons corrected, holding up what looked like a piece of the same centipede machine stuck in Mike's arm.**

"That's probably bad, right?"


	4. Chapter Four

" _That's probably bad, right?"_

"That's definitely bad. Aliens tend to be bad news." Clint frowned, then glanced at Thor. "Present company not included, of course."

"Clint's right," Natasha agreed. "An experimental lab with alien artifacts inside? And a new superhero? It sounds like…." She and Clint exchanged a look. They both knew what it sounded like, but were hoping they were wrong.

"It sounds like HYDRA." Steve finished grimly. "And that's never good."  
"Is there anything about this that _is_ good?" Tony groaned.

"We're watching this instead of working?" Wanda suggested quietly and shyly. Vision didn't smile, exactly, but the side of his mouth moved just a tiny bit.

"Did you just make a joke?" Tony stared at her in awe. "I think you did! Good one!"

"Okay," Steve interrupted. "We should keep watching." The screen continued onward.

 **Coulson held up a vial full of blue liquid for Skye to see. "This is QNB T16."**

"I've heard of that," Bruce remarked. "But it's still experimental, isn't it?"  
"Only officially," Natasha said, frowning a little. "We use it, sometimes. Results are varied. I wouldn't go so far as to say it works more then twenty-five percent of the time."

"Then why does Coulson expect it to work?" Thor asked curiously.

"Oh, I think I know what he's gonna do," Clint was suddenly grinning. "Oh, this is gonna be awesome…" Tony perked up curiously, but Steve again shushed them.

" **It's the top shelf martini of Sodium Pentothal derivatives." Coulson explained as he loaded it into the injection gun. Skye jerked as if attempting to free herself, only to be stopped by Ward's hand on her shoulder holding her down. "It's a brand new and extremely potent truth drug. Don't worry. The effects only last about an hour."**

"If there are any effects." Natasha murmured. She, too, realized what Coulson was planning. She'd seen him do this several times before, and she almost felt a little bad for Skye, as the one on the receiving end of the deception.

She mentally reprimanded herself for sympathizing with Skye. SHIELD was good. Skye was bad. She deserved to feel stupid once she figured out what Coulson's trick was. The Black Widow shouldn't feel pity, especially not for an enemy. She stiffened her arms to her sides angrily as she chastised herself, and Steve noticed. She shook her head just a little. She wouldn't bother any of them with this, not even Clint. Pity could be overcome.

 **"And you'll have a nice little nap." Ward taunted, walking back around the table to join Coulson, "And we'll have all the answers to our -Hey!" He yelped as Coulson suddenly jabbed the needle into his arm, grabbing at the injection sight, "What the hell?!"**

Tony started laughing, and Wanda actually snorted. "Poor Ward," Bruce said, but he was grinning. "I guess it hurt."

 **"I'm sorry. Did that hurt?" Coulson asked in an innocent tone.**

 **"No." Ward denied immediately, "But you've lost your mind. You should never do that to a member of your team. And, yes, it did hurt a little bit. But I always try and mask my pain in front of beautiful women 'cause I think it makes me seem more masculine."**

Now they were all laughing. Natasha let herself smile just a little, but still remained cold from her emotional slip-up with Skye. She was getting soft with the Avengers. A sideways glance at Steve reminded her that that might not be a bad thing, but she still kept herself under tight control.

Though she had to admit Ward's statement was funny.

 **Coulson's lip twitched into a small smile and Skye's eyebrows shot upward as Ward seemed to realize what he'd said. "My god, this stuff works fast." He muttered as he sat down.**

Wanda tried to cover her smile with one hand, as though out of habit. " _Khitrost,_ " She snickered. "It means cunning," She explained, when Bruce asked.

"Don't trust us? Ask him whatever you'd like." Coulson offered, starting for the door.

 **"Wait a minute. Wait. You can't just... This is definitely not protocol..." He argued weakly as the door shut.**

"That's not gonna help you now, buddy." Tony smirked. "You're doomed."

 **"You seem nervous, Agent Ward." Skye commented, leaning forward in the chair and shedding her jacket. Ward's eyes widened, and he cast a notable look down.**

Wanda sniffed with disgust. " _Neryakha._ " *****

Tony whistled appreciatively, staring at Skye as well. Steve scowled at Tony, but it was Bruce who reached over and smacked Tony on the shoulder. "Show a little respect," He chastised. Natasha smirked at Tony's pout.

 **"I'm calling to mind my training. There's no way I'm gonna reveal classified secrets To a girl who's hell bent on taking us down." As he spoke, Skye rose, walking to his side and leaning on the table.**

 **"Have you ever killed anyone?"**

Natasha frowned. That wasn't the question she would've gone with in Skye's shoes-skip to what you really want to know, don't waste time asking questions like that. He was an agent of SHIELD, so he had of course probably killed people. Besides, Natasha made a point of not asking that type of question unless she had to. She'd never want that asked of her.

" **Yes, a few. High risk targets. But they were terrible people..." Skye walked around to his other side as he continued, "Who were trying to murder nice people. And I didn't feel good afterwards."**

"That's probably a bit of an oversimplification." Vision reflected.

 **"And does your grandmother know about these things?"**

 **Ward looked up at her, "Gramzy?" he asked, voice breaking.**

Tony snickered, earning himself another smack on the shoulder from Bruce, but this time playfully since Bruce was smirking a little himself.

Natasha could admit to herself how much she liked the dynamic between Tony and Bruce. She'd gotten the feeling that neither of them really had any friends aside from each other (Tony had Rhodes and Pepper and other Avengers, but nobody else that he could really talk to on his level). Clint had started calling them the Science Bros. Natasha hadn't made any efforts to stop him. Bruce, at the least, needed a friend like Tony. And Natasha suspected Tony needed a friend like Bruce.

 **The screen changed. Mike was following a man, clearly the foreman, through a factory. "My hands are tied, Mike. It's company policy. You didn't meet quota. I had to let you go." The foreman said.**

"That's kind of a jerk policy." Clint commented.

"It's a _very common_ policy," Wanda corrected.

 **Mike rushed to catch up, "Gary, look, I got no choice. It's just me and my boy now," he explained.**

"Did his wife… die?" Bruce asked quietly. The others shifted uncomfortably.

The Vision was the only one who was unbothered. "No. She left the family and remarried three months ago."

"How did you know that?" Thor asked. "Were you told by whoever sent us these moving pictures?"  
"All of the internet, remember?" Vision said politely. "She has social media accounts."

 **"There's no openings, Mike, and even if there were, I got a hundred guys standing in line that are just like you, only they won't bitch when their back hurts." The foreman replied bluntly, stopping and facing Mike directly.**

"I'm with Clint," Steve said, frowning at the screen. "The foreman and his policies are pretty unfair to the workers."  
"Didn't Mike say something earlier about not getting workman's comp when he got injured?" Tony remembered. "What an asshole factory."

"The factory Mike Peterson previously worked at is one of _your_ holding, sir," Vision said politely. Tony blanched.

"Tony," Steve reprimanded. "They're your workers, you can't just-"

"I didn't know about this." Tony sounded pissed. "Jarvis-Vision-whatever-call Pepper. Soon as you can. We're fixing this. We're calling the unions, we're tracking down Mike Peterson, we're _fixing this."_ Bruce smiled softly at his determined friend.

"Of course, sir." Vision agreed.

 **"I was injured, but I'm stronger now. I can handle twice the load I used to." Mike argued.**

 **"What are you not hearing? You don't cut it. When I say I need things moved, I need -" Before he could finish his sentence, Mike turned, throwing his arm against a rack that went flying backwards, throwing sparks upon hitting machinery.**

"Not a great way to get his job back," Steve commented.

"That thing on his arm could be messing with his head," Bruce suggested. "It's not _unheard of_ with some causes of superpowers."

"But Mike's not going green and mean. Just mean." Tony pointed out.

"Not all superheroes are created equal." Natasha said. "Mike's powers might have side effects, but they don't have to be exactly like Doctor Banner's."

 **"Like that?" Mike asked.**

Tony smirked. "Well, if he had to destroy my property, at least he had a cute line afterward." Natasha rolled her eyes.

 **"Are you out of your mind?!" Gary demanded before Mike grabbed him by the face and threw him onto a pile of metal tubing.**

Multiple Avengers winced. Bruce's hands tightened. Not quite into fists, but so that his knuckles turned white. Tony glanced at him worriedly. "Mike's not in control," Bruce muttered. "I'm sure he's not. This isn't his fault."

Tony nodded, not sure to help. He patted Bruce awkwardly on the arm. "Coulson'll get that thing off his arm. He'll be back with his son in no time." Bruce nodded stiffly, clearly not convinced.

 **"These are people, Gary. Men! Not parts you replace when they break!" Mike yelled, ripping a tank from its dock and advancing.**

 **"It's not me, man," Gary argued weakly, "It's the company. I'm not the bad guy. I'm not the bad guy, man."**

Tony scowled. Bruce, who had been taking deep breaths, managed to unclench his hands. He didn't just hate it when he hulked out, he hated it when anyone did. Losing control like that, doing things you never would otherwise… it was horrible. The most horrible thing Bruce could imagine.

Especially for a guy like Mike, who had already lost so much and had a young son to take care of. Bruce just hoped Coulson and his team would hurry up and save this guy.

 **Mike's eyes narrowed as he seemed to realize something, "Yes, you are…. It's simple now, just like we used to read about. You're the bad guy. And I'm the hero." With a grunt, he raised the tank and brought it down on Gary's face as the screen went black.**

The Avengers didn't say anything, but all of them were tensed on the edge of their seats. All except for Vision, who watched the screen with a blank face. Wanda wished he'd at least pretend to be worried. It was a little disconcerting that he didn't really process emotion the way they did.

 **Back on the plane, Coulson watched a video feed that showed Ward unconscious on the interrogation table as Skye came up behind him. "Did Agent Ward give you anything?"**

 **"He told me he's been to Paris, but he's never really seen it and that he wishes you had stayed in Tahiti." She replied, coming to stand beside him, leaning on the holotable.**

"Burn." Tony smirked a little. Steve looked puzzled.

"I keep meaning to ask, what does 'burn' mean when you use it like that? I don't…" He looked embarrassed. "I don't understand."  
"It's kind of like wrecked," Wanda tried to explain, but Steve looked even more confused.

"It means somebody got insulted," Clint tried. "Pretty much."

"Oh." Steve paused. "Why didn't you just say that in the first place?"

 **"It's a magical place." Coulson replied.**

 **"Ward doesn't like your style." She continued, looking around curiously, "Kind of think I do."**

"Me, too," Tony said amiably. "I didn't before, but… new Coulson seems pretty cool."  
"He doesn't act like the Coulson we knew." Natasha had to point out. She still wasn't completely convinced that the man on the screen was the man they remembered.

"He could've just changed," Bruce suggested hopefully. "Near-death experiences will change a person. It's entirely possible that's the same man."  
"It still does not seem logical for Coulson to be alive." Thor muttered.

"I thought we got past this, guys," Tony groaned. "It's Coulson. Who knows what Fury did to keep him alive, but its him." He didn't seem as certain as he was saying. Only Bruce heard the whispered, " _I hope."_ That followed his statement. " _Please be alive._ "

 **"What about his?" Coulson asked, putting a news feed on the wall, one that was covering Mike's attack on his former boss.**

 **"...Remains in critical condition. Employees could not identify the attacker, but security footage confirms that this man assaulted the factory foreman before damaging thousands of dollars' worth of company property." The reporter on the news said grimly.**

"C'mon, Mike," Clint encouraged as though Mike could hear him. "Just keep it together until Coulson can find you. You can still do this."

"He can't hear you." Wanda muttered.

"I know that!"

 **"This is wrong. This is not... the guy I met." She protested, while Coulson watched her carefully. "He was... He just needs a break."**

Bruce nodded in agreement. If only Skye would do the right thing and let Coulson help Mike. If only they could fix Mike. If only Mike could go home to his son. If only Mike would get the second change Bruce didn't.

 **"Then give him one." Coulson replied simply. "What have you got?"**

 **She looked at him for a second, before placing Mike's ID on the holotable, where it was automatically scanned.**

Bruce audibly breathed a sigh of relief. He trusted Coulson to find and help Mike, now. He silently thanked Skye.

 **The scene switched as Coulson explained his findings to the rest of the team, who were gathered around the holotable, with the exception of Skye, who kept behind him for the most part. "Michael Peterson... factory worker, married, one kid. Gets injured, gets laid off. Wife jumps ship. Good guy, bad breaks. Best guess is, somebody tells him they can make him strong again, make him super."**

 **"Who has the tech to do that? And why would they want to?" May asked.**

"Actually, kind of a lot of people." Clint realized. "Hammer, Osborn, HYDRA… probably others, that's just off the top of my head."

"Not Hammer." Tony snorted. "The guy's not smart enough."

"Why is it every billionaire we know is either a superhero or a supervillain?" Steve asked. "Can't we have a billionaire who's just a billionaire?"  
"That would be too easy." Vision said dryly. "Underfunded villainy would just be too easy to fight."

 **Coulson turned, "Fitz, what do we have from the security footage before the blast?" The holotable beeped as he put a photo on the wall of a man in a lab coat being yelled at by large man in a gray sweater.**

 **"What are we seeing?" May asked.**

 **"Well, the man is angry at the other man." Fitz explained, earning him a blank look from Coulson and a tilted head from May.**

Tony snorted. Thor smirked slightly. "No shit, Sherlock," Tony laughed at Fitz on the screen.

 **"The data is very corrupt." Simmons intervened quickly.**

 _They'd be a cute couple,_ Wanda realized. _They're already partners. They seem like best friends. They'd probably be perfect together._

"Fitzsimmons," She said out loud.

"Pardon?" Vision asked.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing."

 **Fitz turned back to her. "Yeah, like cold war Russia corrupt. Yeah. I can't sync the timecode without -"**

 **"What if you had the audio?" Skye interrupted, making all eyes turn to her. "I was... running surveillance on the lab." She explained, "I had my shotgun mic pointed at the window before the blast. The digital file's in my van. There's too much background noise for me, but you could probably…"**

"That's smart," Tony admitted. "I would've thought of it a lot sooner, but-" Everybody groaned.

 **"You can clean that up, can't you?" Simmons asked, "Find a sync point and use cross field validation to find -"**

 **"But I can't scrub for expression patterns when the vit c is all- " He replied, only to be cut off by Simmons again.**

 **"Well, is there a chrominance subcarrier?"**

"Is anyone other than me totally not getting this?" Clint asked blankly. "Hands up." Everyone but the Science Bros and Vision raised their hands. Thor raised two hands.

"Oh, good. I was worried it was just me."

 **"Yeah, attached to the back porch. Brilliant." Simultaneously, they both turned back to the rest, "Um, that audio would be great. Thank you very, very much."**

"They couldn't have just said that?" Steve sighed.

 **"Your van's here," Coulson told Skye, "But you were right... We couldn't decrypt the files."**

 **"The encryption is coupled to the GPS." She replied, earning a nod from May and an arched eyebrow from Simmons. "Get my van back to that alley, and then I'm in business."**

"They shouldn't take her back to the alley." Natasha said immediately. "It could be a trick."

"It's probably a trick," Clint agreed.

"It's dangerous at the very least," Steve agreed as well.

"Or… maybe she's telling the truth and it isn't a trick." Wanda said in a fake cheerful voice. "Maybe they'll be fine." Natasha raised an eyebrow. "It could happen, right?"

"Probably not." Clint sighed. "Never has before." They both sighed.

Clint was suddenly reminded of the first day Wanda had come to Homestead, just three weeks after Pietro died. Clint had told Laura about the Maximoff twins, and Laura had decided that Wanda would be staying with them until she got her feet under her again.

" _It'll do her good."_ Laura had said. " _She's coming, Clint. I'm putting my foot down. Now, find her and put her on the phone."_ Clint had, and the tiny smile on Wanda's face when they were done talking had been enough to convince him. He felt like he owed Wanda after what had happened to Pietro.

Their vacation at Homestead really had done Wanda good. Color had returned to her face, and she had started laughing again. She'd regained the pounds she'd lost after Pietro's death, and there was a fire rekindled in her eyes that Clint hadn't even seen she'd lost.

Clint considered her one of his kids. And somehow, her baseless optimism about Skye's fate proved to him how far she'd come. She was hoping for something. Hope was all it took.

 **"Agent May will escort you." He said, stopping May briefly as she went to leave, "And on your way out, wake up Ward."**


	5. Chapter Five

_Clint considered Wanda one of his kids. And somehow, her baseless optimism about Skye's fate proved to him how far she'd come. She was hoping for something. Hope was all it took._

Clint had almost missed that the video had continued.

 **The scene changed again. In the hospital, Mike ducked into the room of the woman he'd saved, flowers in hand.**

 **"You're... Oh, wow. You're... him." She greeted, sitting up with a smile.**

"Who wants to bet this scene is going to be horribly awkward?" Wanda muttered. "It's weird to go visit her."  
"It's not weird!" Tony protested. "I'm sure she's grateful. Grateful women are easy. Absolutely nothing wrong with that."  
Bruce had to resist the urge to sigh like a parent tired of their child's ridiculous antics. Steve just frowned at the coffee table. Wanda and Natasha exchanged _I am so done with him_ looks.

"How does Pepper put up with you?" Clint wondered. "I'm honestly asking."

 **He chuckled, handing the bouquet over. "I'm glad you're doing okay."**

 **"Oh, yeah. Thank you. They're beautiful." She replied. Once the door closed behind the nurse, however, a flip switched. "What the hell are you doing here?" The woman he'd saved demanded.**

"Why is she acting so rudely to Mike?" Thor asked. "He saved her life. And just a moment before, she was happy to see him."  
"She started acting oddly when the nurse left," Natasha frowned. "So she doesn't want anyone to know she's angry at Mike. That's odd."

 **"I don't know where to go, doctor." Mike admitted, looking down. "Everything's getting..."**

"Did he just call her doctor?" Steve asked. "Why 'doctor'?"

"He did," Vision confirmed. "He must know her. And she was in the laboratory where Agent Simmons found the unusual…." He trailed off. "Ah."  
"Ah? What's ah?" Clint asked, still confused.

"Nothing. We ought to continue watching." Vision said, quite clearly hiding something. Wanda tried poking into his head to see what, but he had his defenses up. His mind was always especially hard to see into, as though it was protected by firewalls.

 **He shook his head as if to clear it, "I know what's right. I do. But no one will listen to me. I volunteered because you said things would change."**

 _I volunteered because you said things would change._ Steve felt an odd sort of solidarity with Mike. They weren't exactly the same, but they'd both volunteered to do good without entirely knowing just what it was they were getting caught up in. Steve couldn't have guessed he'd go under the ice and come back up to become an Avenger, and Mike could have only hoped against hope that he would be able to keep in control. The difference was, for Steve things had worked out. For Mike, they just seemed to keep getting worse.

 **The woman staggered to her feet to face him. "You said you could keep it together. Our first subject lost it... walked into the lab with a fricking bomb."**

 **"I'm not like him." Mike argued.**

"You seem a little like him," Natasha argued quietly. She saw Steve frown out of the corner of her eye, and decided to keep quiet. She might not like Mike, but she could tell Steve felt for him.

 **"Well, tell that to your foreman in the I.C.U." She snapped, and Mike reached out to grab her arm.**

 **"I saved you!"**

 **"You exposed me!" She whisper yelled at him, wrenching free of his grasp before sighing. "You exposed the program."**

"Oh, _oh!_ " Clint said, snapping his fingers. Tony and Thor had figured it out at the same time, from the way their eyes had widened.

"She's a doctor from Centipede! That's why she was up there! We should've known." Tony groaned. "She's hot for an evil doctor, though. Very admirable. I wonder if she works-" Suddenly he seemed to panic. "Oh, shit! You're not going to tell Pepper I said that, right?"

Natasha smirked. Bruce shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh, please god have pity," Tony moaned. "She'll kill me!"  
"You deserve it!" Steve criticized.

"Have pity…."

 **Pacing to the door, she checked that nobody was listening in before turning back to him. "The people who gave me this technology... they are very serious, and they do not want to be revealed. Mike Peterson needs to disappear."**

"That sounds ominous." Thor frowned. "I do not understand… when she says that he need 'disappear', does she mean he needs to leave or die?"  
"Hopefully the first one." Clint answered. He was actually finding himself a little anxious for Mike, even though they'd never met and he knew very little about him.

 **"You're right." He agreed darkly, approaching her, "I'm not him anymore. I'm someone else now."**

"That is somehow not encouraging at all," Wanda said, frowning. "He sounds as though he is _losing his marbles._ That is the term for crazy, right?"  
"Yes, it is." Vision confirmed. "And yes, he does."

 **"Oh, please," She scoffed. "You're juiced, Mike. And you're losing it, just like the last guy." She sighed again, shaking her head, as Mike started out the window. "This is a disaster."**

 **"No." He replied in a calm voice, "It's an origin story." And with that, he dropped from the window.**

"Okay, _that,_ " Tony spoke up, having apparently gotten over his fear of Pepper. "Was an epic exit. Seriously. I wish I'd thought to do that when I first got the suit, because that looked seriously badass."

"I know!" Clint said. "I shouldn't have done that since I wouldn't have survived the fall, but it would've looked completely epic if one of you guys had pulled it off."

"It's not as cool if you get the idea from the TV." Wanda said matter-of-factly. "Come up with a cool exit yourselves."

"Easier said than done, Hermione." Tony sighed. "It's really very hard to be me. I have to practice all my funny lines in front of the mirror every morning to get them right."

"Worlds tiniest violin, Stark," Natasha rolled her eyes.

 **The scene changed yet again, this time on a graffitied alley where Skye's van was parked. Inside, she was toying with her computer while May watched through the open door. "Audio file should be coming through. It's not compressed, so it might take a minute." Skye reported.**

"She should always compress audio files." Tony criticized.

"What does it mean to compress…" Steve started to ask, then decided he probably didn't want to know, anyway. Guessing from Bruce shaking his head at him quietly. Natasha mouthed, _he'd never shut up._ "Nevermind."

 **Back on the plane, Fitz was fiddling with a piece of equipment. "Uh, yeah." He replied, dashing back across the cargo bay to his computer. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm getting it." Typing in a few keys, he took his pen from his mouth. "So, uh, uh, when... when you get back, I'll show you my thing."**

Tony and Thor both snorted at the exact same time, then realized what they'd done and eyed each other wearily. That just made the others laugh harder. Clint groaned at the awkwardness, but even Natasha had to laugh.

"Poor Fitz," Wanda sighed. "That's just embarrassing."

 **Fitz's eyes widened and he backtracked. "A thing. It's not... it's my hardware." He gestured helplessly as he tried to correct himself. "My equipment." He reached for his earpiece resignedly. "Let's... hang up."**

"He sounds a little like you, Bruce," Tony sniggered. Bruce looked embarrassed. "Not in a weird way or anything. Not that you're not handsome, but I-"  
"Tony?" Bruce held up a hand to stop him. "We're good."

 **On the other side of the lab, Coulson stood behind Simmons. who was working with a saw on the metal.**

 **"So, the alien metal wasn't the explosive?" He asked.**

 **"Well, I assumed from the break pattern and dispersion that it was, but it's just dripping with gamma radiation and... Oh!" A dark brown goop started dripping from the mangled canister. "Now it's actually dripping." She chuckled weakly, "Fun."**

"I don't see how that's fun," Natasha murmured, wrinkling her nose slightly with disgust. "This is why I stay out of the lab. That and Stark is there."  
"You wound me, Natasha, you really do." Tony sighed.

Bruce, meanwhile, was carefully studying whatever Simmons was studying. "Gamma radiation…?" He wondered quietly. "They used gamma radiation on Mike? I could have told them that was a bad idea."

"You and me both." Steve agreed.

 **"So, what did that get us?" Ward demanded as he came into the lab, back to his normal self.**

"A good laugh?" Clint suggested.

 **"Skye's sending us the rest of her decrypted files on Centipede. But we have her audio. I've loaded it up." Fitz explained quickly, using a hand to brush Ward out of his way as he passed.**

 **"Nice work." Coulson said simply, making Ward face him, jaw tightening in annoyance.**

"I do not like Ward very much." Wanda admitted, frowning. "I like Fitz, and they do not seem to get along."  
"Cap and I don't get along," Tony pointed out. "Does that mean you don't like one of us?"

Wanda just shrugged. Steve smirked slightly, knowing what the shrug meant. Wanda didn't dislike Tony, but she did like him _better_.

After Pietro had died, Steve had wanted to help Wanda. He hadn't really known how, though, and then she'd spent a vacation at Homestead where he'd barely seen her. Since she'd been back, though, he'd almost become an older brother figure. He was glad that she seemed happier nowadays, though he knew you never got over a loss like she'd suffered when Pietro died. Not really. He forced himself to look back at the screen before his thoughts could go to Bucky.

 **Fitz moved a few steps up the staircase as he explained what he was doing, "...using motion estimation, Bayesian inference, a beam splitter, and a little diffraction theory, our mystery man..." As he hit a button, four pillars emitted light that created a holographic scene of the conflict from the picture earlier. "...appears. It's like magic." He grinned proudly, before quickly adding, "But it's... it's science."**

Bruce was embarrassed to admit even to himself that Fitz did seem a little like him, when he'd been younger and hadn't had the other guy weighing him down. Besides, that was impressive what Fitz had just done with the holograms.

 **"...to please calm down. Just let me check your vitals." The scientist in the hologram was saying.**

"That scientist isn't the woman from the hospital," Clint pointed out.

"If she'd been standing right next to the guy with the bomb, do you really think she'd still be alive?" Natasha pointed out.

 **"I feel fine." The other man argued. "I want to feel more. Where's the doctor? Where is she?!"**

 **From her post, Jemma jerked to watch.**

 **"If you don't settle down, I 'll have you sedated." The scientist said anxiously.**

"That's not going to work." Bruce muttered.

" **Where is she?!" The other man demanded, throwing a large office chair to the ground.**

"He reminds me of the berserker warriors of the vikings," Thor said off-handedly, spinning his hammer around on one corner on the floor. "They would grow to a fearsome rage that would let them fight harder and longer than any other warriors. They were the first thought in my mind when I first saw the Hulk in battle, Dr. Banner."  
Bruce just nodded. They did sound a lot like the Hulk, and not in any good ways.

 **"Wait. Did you... did you see that on his arm?" Fitz asked, rewinding the display and pausing it with a clear view to the man's arm while Ward moved in close for a second look. The same glowing mechanism they'd seen earlier on Mike's arm could be seen.**

"It doesn't look different from the one on Mike," Wanda said, frowning. "Does that mean that Mike might go… berserk, as well? If the formula has not changed?"  
"They'd probably change it between tries," Tony assured her, though he didn't sound entirely convinced himself. He and Bruce exchanged uncertain glances.

 **"What does that look like to you?" Coulson asked.**

 **"A centipede." Ward murmured.**

"I was going to say caterpillar," Clint muttered, earning a snigger from Thor.

"The Caterpillar just doesn't sound as intimidating." Tony smirked.

 **"It's an intravenous filter for his blood." Simmons explained, rushing toward the other three. "This goo, sir... very similar to the serum Dr. Erskine developed in the '40s for the -"**

 **"Super soldiers." Coulson finished.**

"Still a Captain America fan, I see." Tony smirked.

Steve was thinking about Dr. Erskine, and ignoring Tony. The mention of his old friend made him want to smash something. Dr. Erskine would never have wanted his creation being used this way, driving good men mad. It wasn't right.

 **"I'm reading alien metal, gamma radiation, the serum... every known source of superpower thrown in a blender." Simmons said.**

"How could they not predict that would end badly?" Vision sighed. "It seems extremely illogical to assume that something wouldn't go wrong."

"I don't think these people are exactly logical, Vision." Wanda pointed out.

 **Coulson stiffened, turning back to Fitz. "We need to see the origin of the blast. Run it back from the last point recorded."**

 **The scene shifted again, back to Skye in the van, where she typed something on her computer before picking up a chip from her desk and sticking it in her bra. "That should do it." She said, closing her laptop.**

"What did she just take?" Natasha frowned immediately. "What was on that chip?"  
"Why so paranoid, miss secret agent?" Tony groaned. "Maybe it was baby pictures. Did you ever consider that? No? Didn't think so."  
Natasha contemplated throwing something valuable at him.

 **"Let's head back." May suggested, and Skye nodded.**

 **"All right, let me just -" Skye started, cutting off when Mike appeared out of nowhere, throwing May against the wall of the alley hard enough to knock her out.**

Several Avengers winced. "Ouch," Clint mouthed to Natasha, who nodded.

 **"Mike? What are you doing?!" Skye yelped.**

"Yeah, Mike." Tony said, scowling at the screen. "What the hell _are_ you doing?"

" _Language!"_ Wanda muttered to Vision, who actually smirked. Or got as close to smirking as he could.

 **"Saving you." He explained, like it was obvious, "From the scary men in dark suits. And you're gonna help save us."**

 **"'Us?'" She asked. Mike reached out and grabbed his son's arm, pulling him into Skye's view.**

"Oh, damn," Tony said. "Leave the kid out of it." He frowned. Steve frowned, as well, surprised that Tony would be concerned over the safety of Mike's son instead of making a snarky comment. "What?" Tony asked, noticing Steve surprise. "That kid hasn't done anything wrong. He probably doesn't deserve to get dragged into the grown-ups crap."

"You are right." Thor nodded. "The child is in danger with his father."

 **"Don't cry. Okay?" Mike urged, placing Ace in the van gently and getting him himself, Skye quickly moving out of the way. "Stay strong for me, Ace. What are we?"**

 **"We're a team." The little boy replied.**

"Get up, May," Natasha muttered so quietly nobody heard her. If only Agent May would get back up, maybe she could get Ace away, even if she couldn't help Skye in that moment. That little boy had to get to safety. But the screen progressed with no more sign of May.

 **"That's right." He praised, before looking to Skye. "Now drive."**

 **Back on the plane, the hologram was showing a massive explosion, the source of it all coming back to the man himself as Fitz slowly rewound.**

"So… the man blew up, not a bomb?" Clint realized. "Crap, they put the same stuff in Mike!"

"No wonder he's so unstable," Bruce nodded. "He's a… well, he's a time-bomb."

"You always say that." Tony rolled his eyes.

 **"Extremis." Coulson explained, "It's new. Completely unstable."**

"I think that's a bit of an understatement," Vision said. "Highly volatile."

 **"Poor man didn't bring an explosive. And Mike has the same stuff in his system." Simmons concluded, looking between the others.**

 **"And judging by his strength level, a lot more." Ward added.**

"So he has even less time before he blows?" Steve guessed.

"Probably." Bruce nodded grimly.

"Which means less time for Coulson and co. to save the day." Tony glared at the screen. "This just keeps on getting better and better."

 **"So any minute now, Mike is gonna...?" Fitz asked, looking to Simmons.**

 **"He'll take out anyone within a two block radius." She replied.**

 **Coulson started out of the lab again, pausing to look at Ward. "Well... you wanted a bomb."**

"I don't think that's what he meant," Thor said, a little confused.

"No kidding," Clint said, staring anxiously at the TV.

 **Back in Skye's van, red Extremis glowed brightly under Mike's skin as he held Ace.**

"They'll get him away in time, won't they?" Wanda glanced at her team for reassurance. Nobody really looked her in the eyes.

"They'll try," Steve granted. "They have a full SHIELD backup behind them. I think they've got a shot."

"Hopefully," Natasha muttered.


End file.
